


The Fool

by thejudgingtrash



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Drama, F/F, F/M, Mystery, Non-Explicit, PJO Big Bang, PJO Big Bang 2020, Romance, Soulmate AU, Tarot Inspired, Warning: mentions of violence & drug usage & pirates & sex, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24976105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejudgingtrash/pseuds/thejudgingtrash
Summary: Tarot. 78 cards. The Major Arcana. The 22 trump cards. Some say the cards keep secrets. They are holders of wisdom. They whisper about past, present and future. Game or divination? You decide.Annabeth Chase was never one for romance nor cheap card tricks. She didn’t seek the cursed fortune teller out. It was the very opposite. A simple glimpse into the stars. The Fool was made for her and his sea-green eye would haunt her (Percabeth soulmate AU, Rated T/M).
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Piper McLean, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Katie Gardner/Travis Stoll, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf, Thalia Grace/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Comments: 48
Kudos: 76
Collections: PJO/HOO Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> It's me [Mel](https://thejudgingtrash.tumblr.com/) again :D
> 
> I'm super excited and honored and anxious to kick off the PJO/HOO Big Bang 2020 with my new multi chapter Percabeth soulmate AU The Fool! A group work project consisting of authors, beta readers and artists all from Tumblr! Feel free to check the AO3 collection of the pjo-hoo-bigbang account out to find more PJO Big Bang fics that are being posted this week!
> 
> I'm glad to have wisdomofchase, the-real-annabeth-chase and dont-taunt-the-octopus helping me out as beta readers and of course amazing artwork by annalrk, starlinks/officialpjo and kaftos-is-demidead which will be reblogged on my blog along the way!
> 
> Unfortunately (or fortunately) my brain decided to pump out massive amounts of words, so you'll get content outside of the Big Bang posting week! I intended to write three chapters in total, but chapter one was already gigantic with roughly 26k words, so I've decided to turn the chapters into acts which are split into chapters.
> 
> Also warning: this fic is tarot inspired! A normal tarot reading wouldn't look like this :D
> 
> But enough rambling from my side: please enjoy The Fool!

**THE FOOL**

**_A C T_ ** _I_

**_T H E F_ ** _O O L_

**_C H A P_ ** _T E R 1 **/ 3**_

**2 0** 1 8

 **N E W** Y O R K C I T Y

Annabeth Chase was never one for romance. Of course, she had relationships, a fling here and there, but they never lasted. That’s the curse of the modern era, where everyone was made to believe that you could find _The One_ with a simple swipe. For Annabeth being single was fine despite everyone in her environment giving her the feeling that should her Prince Charming not strut through the door on his beautiful mane within the next five minutes, it would be over and out for her at the young age of 21. It didn’t feel like she lived in the 21st Century. No, it felt like she was the protagonist of a Jane Austen novel set in 1803.

“Can I get you something to drink, sir?” The blonde smiled at the middle-aged man in his poorly sized business suit. A coy smile here and there, a little hint of arrogance and fluttering her eyelashes at the particularly thirsty ones. The things you do for money. Was it pathetic? Yes. Would the tipping jar be less filled if she didn’t use these pathetic methods? Absolutely.

“Oh, I’d like a martini, love,” the customer grinned back.

 _Oh, fuck right off_ she thought but plastered nothing but a polite smile before writing down his overly pretentious order. The urge to roll her eyes was right there but Annabeth couldn’t afford another lecture from Beckendorf, the head waiter was particularly strict when it came to customers. As you know, the customer is king. And the king is always right as he brought money to finance their livelihood. The young woman nodded and made her way to the bar to place the order.

“Mom! Did you see her hand? What’s wrong with it? What happened to that girl?”

Oh, kids. The mother hushed her little boy and turned red as she caught Annabeth’s eyes. Yes. The pinkie on her left hand had been significantly shorter since birth. Almost half as short as her right pinkie. Ah, children, never able to keep their mouths shut. Annabeth merely continued working. Just one more hour and she and her fellow friends and staff members would be free.

“Oh my god, I wanted to kill those guys at table three,” Piper rolled her eyes. Her usually friendly brown eyes now sparked with hatred.

“Instead of calling me or waiting for me to acknowledge them, one of them actually tried to grab my fucking wrist!”

“Welcome to the club, happens to me at least once a week,” Reyna muttered as she removed the black apron around her waist in the backroom. _The Big House_ was a rather fancy Upper-middle-class restaurant despite the waiting staff consisting mostly of college kids. No matter the conditions and wealth, people were assholes. And rich assholes were the worst. One of the cooks, Hazel, entered the tiny, stuffy room.

“Damn guys, open a window or something,” the petite black woman flung her locs over her shoulder. Annabeth did as she said.

The conversation shifted to college and assignments. “Guess what. Being stuck with two people who don’t show up isn’t fun,” Piper groaned. How was she supposed to create a plaster cast of three sets of legs when two people decided not to cooperate?

“Well, you can use me as your model if your prof doesn’t mind or is too stupid to notice the difference. You’d only have to tackle my 25 pages about the shift in economic imbalances of household incomes from the past 20 years.” Reyna winked and changed into her t-shirt and cardigan. The native Puerto Rican was significantly taller and had longer legs than Piper’s groupmates.

Piper laughed dryly. “How about no?”

Annabeth loved listening to the shenanigans of her friends. It reminded her of a life outside of the pressures at home and the small mundane things that people didn’t appreciate. She swore not to take calm moments like these for granted.

“Well. You haven’t finished your story from earlier!” Reyna reminded Hazel.

“Good thought, Miss Ramirez Arellano-“

“It’s Ramírez _de_ Arellano!”

“What’s with your new hot neighbor?” Piper continued wiggling her eyebrows in a way that made Annabeth laugh and Hazel frown.

“Frank is over thirty and divorced,” stated Hazel.

“And? Where’s the problem?”

“That’s a solid no from me with that age gap. He just brought some cupcakes over to introduce himself to the neighborhood. That’s all. Being Canadian and friendly.”

“But it’s Frank, not _Mr. Zhang_ anymore,” Annabeth added to the round.

“How about you shut your damn mouth, Chase?”

The other three girls just giggled and snorted. “I mean how’s it looking in your love lives, bland and dry?” Hazel cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms, the grin on her lips revealing that she meant her comment in a joking manner.

Annabeth and Piper’s faces soured whereas Reyna joined Hazel with a cackle. “Well, guess who’s pissed now? How’s it looking with Captain America, Piper? Is he still not over you?”

Piper sighed. She broke up with her boyfriend, Jason because she didn’t reciprocate the same feelings and she felt awful for dragging him along. So, she decided right after his bar exam to pull the plug. According to Piper, seeing Jason cry was extremely hard. And hearing Jason cry over a phone call while you were trying to have a girl’s night, disturbing your _Mindhunter_ spree on Netflix was even worse. The discomfort that was shared between the friends was something to never forget.

“I don’t think so,” the brunette sighed. “It’s been over half six months and he’s still asking me every day how I’m doing and once a week if I’m still single.”

Everyone winced. That was a bad sign. “His move will be a good start; I think the distance will help him. Perhaps California can heal him. At least I hope so. I really have a lucky hand at choosing the right people at the wrong time or just choosing the wrong people.”

“Well… I mean you can always join team gals loving gals!” Reyna was the only person with bragging rights in the group as her relationship with Thalia Grace had been blossoming for over three years.

“I don’t think switching camps is that easy, unfortunately. And I’d rather enjoy my busy single college life for a second. Well… what about you Miss Chase?” Piper deflected.

“Let’s not go down that road.” Annabeth warned. She wasn’t interested in yet another talk about her non-existent love life. Why was it okay for Piper to reject love but for her it wasn’t? The thought about her friend’s messy breakup was immediately thrown out of her mind.

“Oh please. We’re concerned about you! You spew hatred towards men and women equally! And you obviously need to get laid.” Piper agreed with Reyna’s argument.

Annabeth rolled with her eyes and stuffed the white blouse from her uniform into her backpack. She’d have to iron the blouse and the skirt immediately at home. “I’m more than fine. Thank you, next.”

“First of all, leave Ariana out of this. And second, why don’t you visit that new fortune teller everyone’s been talking about?” Reyna suggested. Piper was interested but skepticism was clearly written on the faces of Annabeth and Hazel.

“A fortune teller? Smells like bullshit but that’s just me,” Hazel commented. As a New Orleanian she was used to the touristic ways and commercialization of African folklore and the diaspora. She had seen a good number of fortune tellers and their scams.

Annabeth nodded in agreement. “Honestly guys. I’m good. No need for some weirdo lighting up a candle and trying to scare you with some poker cards.”

“The Luke and Rachel fiascos really traumatized you, huh?” Piper’s frown was apparent.

Luke was Annabeth’s first ex that simply ghosted her after dating for a whole year, and Rachel was, unfortunately, the messiest on-off relationship Annabeth had to that date. The fights were legendary.

Annabeth’s mood soured. “No, I mean it seriously!” Reyna said.

“I mean I visited a fortune teller many moons ago and she said that I’d run into the love of my life and guess what happened literally a day after? I ran into Thalia after my daily jog! Did she nearly murder me because she was illegally doing some archery in the woods? Yes! But we’ve been in a happy relationship ever since.”

Annabeth had to admit that she was rather jealous of Reyna’s somewhat crazy love story. “But still. A fortune teller sounds fucking crazy and you know -”

Two bangs on the door disrupted Annabeth’s speech. “Are all of you decent?” Beckendorf’s muffled voice asked from outside.

“Yes!” the group of women answered. The tall head waiter entered the room.

“Alright people! Shifts for next week.” Beckendorf coordinated the plans next to Mr. Brunner, the owner. He showed them his phone. A second later and everyone got the plan in the group chat.

“Tuesday? Seriously?” Hazel groaned. She needed that day off to work on her jewelry project.

“You know that we can’t rely all too much on cokehead Dakota in the kitchen, Hazel. I’m sorry. But complain to Mr. Brunner for that.”

The rest of the group was rather pleased with their plans. Annabeth had the next two days off and could focus on her university assignments. “Alright guys! See you!”

The light of the day had been swallowed by darkness. The friends parted ways as every single one of them lived in a different part of Manhattan. Annabeth slowly walked through the artificially illuminated streets that weren’t as busy as during the day time. There were still a bunch of people chasing their activities and ignoring her in the grand scheme of things. A scent crawled into her nose. It was so intense that it made her stop and sneeze several times. It was a mixture of cinnamon, black pepper, jasmine, chili, and something else, something earthy scented.

“What?” Annabeth looked around her. She was confused. Where did this odd sent come from all of a sudden? She thought her mind was playing a game with her but no. The blonde caught movement from the corner of her eyes and a ray of light suddenly appeared behind her. The alley that was shared between two houses and their large garbage containers had a new presence. The dumpsters were gone. Instead there was a tent with a rolled-out red carpet in front of its entrance. Annabeth stared in awe. The imagery in front of her was so wrong. So out of place. So not New York City.

The tent was incredibly large and stretched throughout the entire alley. It had the shape of a circus tent, but it was draped in a deep violet velvet fabric. It looked expensive and custom made. Golden embroidery formed weird signs and letters on it. Annabeth only recognized Roman numbers, the zodiac signs and some runes and hieroglyphs here and there. “Come on! Enter!” demanded a voice from the inside. It was the rich voice of a woman. It sounded friendly; polite even. Annabeth turned around to see if the voice was directed at her. The street was empty apart from her. _What? How…? Where are all the people?_ They were gone.

“Yes, I mean you, my dear.” The woman laughed.

Annabeth’s feet moved on their own. Did she mean to enter the tent or didn’t she? No matter, it was too late to change her mind. As she pulled the curtain open, she was greeted by yet another cloud of the weird spice mix, at least she didn’t sneeze this time. It was fairly dark inside. The lights from earlier were almost gone. Candles dimly lit the space. The tent looked like it was divided into two sections. The entrance where Annabeth stood was filled with all sorts of things. Treasure chests, suitcases, bookshelves which seemed like they would burst at any minute given, a mirror on each side, dozens of paintings, pictures and drawn signs on the wall. Different eras and periods were fighting against each other in one epic battle. It was so overwhelming to look at that Annabeth couldn’t focus on one thing at a time.

“Please have a seat.” The woman was in the other section which was closed off by another set of heavy curtains. In the middle of the room was a robustly built old wooden antique table. On it was of course a crystal ball and more candles, surrounded by a deck of cards with a red and white diamond pattern. The chairs mirrored each other. Old and worn in, yet elegant and expensive.

Annabeth had a bad feeling but did what the woman asked her to do. She slumped into it with the uneasiness of an almost scared little girl. Where the feeling came from, she did not know. All her heart felt was distrust. “Welcome!”

The curtain had been torn away and the jovial woman stepped forward into the light. _Oh my fucking god_ Annabeth thought and tried to suppress a snort. It had to be a joke. This weird fortune teller really had a knack for fulfilling every cliché. Her dark dress was of a weird flower pattern mixed with Greek and hieroglyphics. She wore big golden hoop earrings and had a red bandana wrapped around her head. Her body was beautiful, curvy and luscious. A high nose, dimples, and red lips turned into a grin that revealed some golden teeth and a canine that had been replaced by a jade stone.

But her eyes. The eyes were off. Annabeth couldn’t place her finger on it. They had such a light brown eye color that almost equaled the flame of a lighter. Annabeth had the feeling that the woman was older than she seemed. Her eyes had witnessed things.

“They call me Hestia,” she introduced herself. Her golden rings and bracelets clanged. “Lady Hestia of the Hearth, to be exact.”

“Alrighty then, Lady Hestia,” Annabeth merely raised an unimpressed blonde eyebrow. She had to admit. This strange Lady Hestia oozed a buoyant and vitalized aura. She took her seat in front of Annabeth and flung her perfect orange curls over her shoulder.

“I presume you are here to have your future told, my dear.” Lady Hestia picked up and shuffled the set of cards around her crystal ball at such a speed that it made Annabeth nearly nauseous.

“Not really. I should leave, it’s already late.” The gleam in Hestia’s eyes said _No. You’re going to stay_. Annabeth narrowed her eyes. A smirk appeared on the tanned face of the woman in front of her.

“But it was already foretold that you are supposed to be here!” Lady Hestia laughed.

“Everything had already been aligned and was set before you were born. Before _I_ came to be. But don’t worry. We are going to have a great time.”

Lady Hestia winked, but Annabeth was still not into this whole thing. “Let us start easy by playing a simple card game. A warm up, so to speak.” She divided the cards into four piles and gave each one a little push.

“Let us remove the face cards to make it easier, if I may?” Annabeth’s voice failed to operate. The young college student had to admit that she was impressed by the speed and accuracy. It was abundantly clear that the fortune teller had a knack for card magic.

Another swift move and Lady Hestia removed the entire third row. 20 piles suddenly became 16. Then she arranged the cards again so that the gap was closed. “Think of a card please.”

“Okay.” Annabeth decided to play along. She was just not following her rules. _She said no face cards, right?_ Lady Hestia’s smile seemed honest. Almost.

“Truly think this through. Close your eyes and open your inner ones.” Annabeth closed her eyes and was greeted by darkness. A card came to her mind. The queen of hearts. Easy.

“Have you made your decision?” Lady Hestia asked. Annabeth opened her eyes and nodded.

“Very well.” Lady Hestia’s hands hovered over the cards. It seemed like she could not decide which card to unveil. She chose the second card of the third row from Annabeth’s perspective. 8 of clubs. Now the corners of Annabeth’s mouth turned up.

“No, that is not it,” sighed the woman in front of her and uncovered the card next to it. 8 of spades. The urge to laugh was something Annabeth was trying to resist. The fortune teller unveiled the fourth card. 8 of diamonds. Annabeth bit her tongue. She was a 21-year-old trying to trick a trickster and it was way too funny for her.

“Did you really think I would fall for that cheap trick?” The smile turned sinister. The delighted mood was gone, and a coldness crawled up Annabeth’s neck.

“Next time… Try to set a trap that’s a little bit more creative, my dear.” The last card, which was the third card that Lady Hestia uncovered, was the queen of hearts.

“What?! But you said you removed the face cards?! How did you pull that off?!”

Lady Hestia’s laughter was smug. “You have the right to betray me, do I not have the right to betray you?” Annabeth felt her face turn red and she refused to meet her eyes.

“This shall remain a little secret of mine, my dear.”

“Alright. I’ve had enough of this bullshit and have better things to do.” Annabeth got up. Lady Hestia shuffled her cards and looked unimpressed at her outburst. Like a tired mother waiting for her child to calm down on her own.

“You are clearly frustrated.” said the fortune teller after taking a good look at Annabeth’s agitated face.

“Oh really?” The blonde muttered through her teeth. “I’m sorry Lady Hestia, but all of this-” Annabeth’s hands were all over the place. “Just isn’t something for me-”

“You are unhappy with the burden of your family. The high expectations of your mother and your father,” Lady Hestia disrupted her. Annabeth’s eyes widened.

“How did you-”

“The head of a tech company as a father and a demanding lawyer as a mother. Frederick and Athena Chase.” Annabeth’s mouth jaw dropped a little bit. How did she know all of this?

“But that isn’t even the large part of your frustration, is it not?” Lady Hestia’s smirk was warm on the surface, but it subtly sparked with sadism. She enjoyed herself all too well.

“The reason why you are truly frustrated is because your friends are _right_.” A flame gleamed in the eyes of the fortune teller and hypnotized Annabeth.

“ _Love_. You miss it and desperately need it. You cry during romantic movies, you secretly read cheap erotic romance novels on your phone in hopes that no one’s watching. You truly believe the words of others. Should you not find a suitable lover before the age of 25 and it will be over for you. You want the one and only one for you, and you’d rather wait for decades than to sell yourself to the cheapest bidder. But that, my dear Annabeth Chase, is where you are wrong. This is where I can help you.” Lady Hestia’s hand rested on the table with the palms up.

“Let me take a look at your future, my dear. I hope I can bring you some good news. Some change to relieve the burden of your maiden heart. Your blindness to see the world between the worlds is very cute, young girl.” Annabeth fell down to the chair. She was speechless, she was flabbergasted. She was _embarrassed_. This was too unreal. This was a fever dream. This was Annabeth’s mind playing a trick on herself.

“I am not frustrated, and I don’t need a relationship,” Annabeth replied and sounded a little _too_ aggressive in her own defense.

Lady Hestia’s slim fingers opened an old golden box on her table. Annabeth was startled. Had this tiny chest always been on the table? “In that case let me simply clear your mind, Annabeth.” The redhead had a weird accent Annabeth couldn’t place and the way she said her name made Annabeth feel very weird.

Old cards were lifted out of their cage and Annabeth admitted her defeat. The cards looked like they were the most valuable items in the entire tent. The edges were golden, and they were double the size of the regular playing cards. Lady Hestia separated them into four rows with five cards. 20 in total. Annabeth caught a glimpse into the little box. The fortune teller had not picked up all her cards, a large amount remained where they were.

The backs of the cards varied. They were either yellow with fine golden stripes or of a rich purple. The most compelling detail was the large piercing eye. Glowing red directly pointed at you. Watching your every move. Judging the final decision. The word **Lady** was written above the eye, the word **Hestia** below it. “Past, present and future united,” smiled the mysterious woman.

“The past brought you here, the present makes you stay, but the future…” Her hands wandered over the ocean of cards.

“Lies here for you. Ready to be uncovered. Find the way to your desire, my dear child. The ways to your _true_ potential. What is important is that you may pick only _one_ card. The right card. Do not make hasty your decision, Annabeth Chase. Focus and think through it. Let your intuition guide you but only settle for a card once your mind has validated your choice.”

Gold. Purple. Gold. Purple. Gold. Four rows. There were too many cards and Annabeth was only supposed to pick one of them? Make _one_ choice? Weren’t tarot reads made up by several cards that were supposed to guide one? Annabeth’s hand was hovering over the cards. Which one? Which one? _Which one?_ Gold or purple. Purple or gold. Her hand came to a halt.

Hestia’s eyes glowed of an unnatural red. _Yes_. _The correct choice_. The grin of unnatural evil. Her teeth glistened in the dim light and the corners of her mouth stretched so far up her cheeks it seemed like the fortune teller had put on a mask of the mischievous. A true Glasgow Smile. Annabeth had the feeling that the wind howling outside was trying to break into the tent. The ground rattled, was it an earthquake? Or was it her heartbeat pumping so loud and fast that it nearly deafened her? Annabeth was pretty sure that she heard thunder cracking outside somewhere in the distance and its echo rumbling through the streets. It was like she had sealed her future. Signed a deal with the devil. Swore the highest oath. Made an unbreakable vow.

With a staggering breath Annabeth’s hand lowered itself to the third card of the third row. It was a similar position to where the queen of hearts had been earlier. Her fingertips hovered over the card and nearly backtracked. An electric shock made its way from the card to her fingers and passed throughout her entire body. It was too late. Annabeth had made her choice. The card was glued to her fingers and there was no escape.

“That is your choice, Annabeth Chase?” Her voice sounded so dark, so old all of a sudden. Like the air had been sucked out of her entire being and the pressed words were all that could leave Lady Hestia’s mouth.

“Yes.” Annabeth didn’t know why she was so nervous.

“Very well!” Lady Hestia clapped her hands in delight. “Uncover it.”

The voice had a very demanding tone. Firmly, Annabeth grabbed the card with the golden back and turned it around. She gasped. _What_? It said **_Le Mat_** on the lower half.

“ _Le mat_. The fool. You have made your decision. You have sealed your future.”

Annabeth took a good look at the card. The background was blurred but she was sure it was some body of water. A young man was depicted. He looked like the lovechild between Casanova and Jack Sparrow. His pitch-black wavy hair fell to his shoulders and looked to be captured by an unseen breeze. He wore a wide blouse that was way too big for him but revealed his tanned collar bone and a little bit of his chest. A brown belt transitioned into a weird set of pants. They had a weird red and blue diamond pattern that looked absolutely hideous on its own but made his legs seem muscular. One hand rested on his hip while the other hand was raising a sword to the sky.

What struck Annabeth was his handsome face. It seemed so real. So photorealistic despite the age of the card itself. His tanned face had a prominent jaw, a straight nose and high cheekbones. His lips were pulled into a grin. He looked at her somewhat mischievously. But, what really captured Annabeth was his beautiful sea-green eye. It was of a deep green and one that Annabeth had never seen before. It almost put her in a trance. The color was way too hypnotizing.

But it was _one_ eye. One solely. The left one had been covered by a black piece of fabric that served as an eye patch. Despite that it hid a good part of his face, it didn’t turn Annabeth off. No, it actually captured her interest even further. On his head sat a brown triangle shaped hat made out of straw. Annabeth’s eyes wandered up. A word was engraved above the depiction. Or rather a name. **_PERSEVS_**.

“The Fool is called Perseus?” Annabeth questioned. She was confused and her eyebrows knitted together. Tarot wasn’t her thing, but she was sure that she never heard about a rule that cards had set names.

“ _This_ fool is called Perseus, yes indeed.” Lady Hestia nodded. She collected the remaining cards.

“Juvenile, some say careless, and a little bit naïve perhaps, but nonetheless an important part of your life. The Fool will guide you.”

That was supposed to be the answer to her dried-up love life? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was Annabeth’s partner going to be like that? Someone that probably wouldn’t mesh with her at all? Was she supposed to live her life to the fullest even if it meant to turn at the wrong corners? Lady Hestia followed the emotional change of the blonde.

“The card is left out for interpretation. Seek your journey and the truth and your part in it will unveil itself in time due, my child,” she truthfully answered.

“That is the end of the reading.” Annabeth looked up to her. _You’ve got to be kidding me. All of this spiel for this?_

“Can I perhaps do something else for you?” Lady Hestia tilted her head in a curious manner. Almost as if she was a cat cornering a mouse, excited to dive in for the final kill.

“No, that’s all.” Annabeth declined. The rush from earlier died down and left an emptiness inside of her. Her fingers were still tightly wrapped around the card, which started to heat up. Annabeth held the card out for Hestia, but the redhead shook her head at her and didn’t even try to hide her amusement.

“No, no,” she smiled. “It is your future after all. You might need him. Take _good_ care of him.”

Annabeth’s eyes widened. Why? How? It was the day and age of the internet. Even if Annabeth was interested in doing more research into this tarot reading and fortune telling nonsense, she could always just google the cards and their meaning. “Okay…” she simply said.

“And your services…?”

“Everything is on the house, my dear. I got to meet _you_. That is my payment.” Lady Hestia’s smile could almost be considered honest if it hadn’t been for the lies reflected in her eyes.

Annabeth just nodded and decided to let the weird woman in front of her be. The weird force and heavy feeling that pressed Annabeth into the old chair were lifted. She had regained full consciousness and was in control of her body again. With a swift move, the blonde stood up and grabbed her backpack that was leaning against her chair.

“In that case…Goodnight.” Annabeth merely nodded and turned around to leave the tent.

“Goodnight,” replied Lady Hestia as Annabeth left her tent.

As soon as the cold November breeze hit Annabeth and her legs had gotten her two streets further, it dawned on her. The utter and complete bullshit of everything that had been said added to something else. She came to a stop.

 _How did this weird woman know me?_ The solution came to her quickly, as she tried to brush her sweaty fingers off her jeans only to realize that she had never put them on again. She still wore the black skirt and black tights underneath it as a part of her uniform. Around her waist, visible to read, was her name tag from _The Big House_.

“Of fucking course,” the blonde muttered. No magic, no fortune telling. Distraction and foul tricks only. Frederick and Athena Chase were very prominent figures and most people that have met Annabeth for the very first time said that she was a carbon copy of her mother. So, piecing the pieces together didn’t seem all too far-fetched. The young college student was filled with anger now. It wasn’t the humiliation of being deceived, it was the fact that she had lost a precious hour of the evening which she could have used to polish the last parts of her assignment or prepared her work uniform so that she wouldn’t have to bother to do that hastily on Tuesday. But no. Annabeth fell for the trap that had been that lunatic Lady Hestia.

Annabeth turned around. She had the urge to march right back to the tent like a small child and give that woman a good lecture on how to be a decent human being. Then again… she had other things to do. Better things to do.

The tarot card in her hands burned. She took a good look at it. Le mat. The Fool. _Perseus_. Her feet dragged her to the nearest garbage bin. “Fuck this,” she hissed and tossed the card away. The smiling fool fell into the rotting contents of the bin. _Goodbye Perseus_.

Life came back to the streets and continued as always in Manhattan. It was like nothing had changed. And Annabeth marched right back home.

“Insolent child, far too predictable,” Hestia said as her grim laughter filled the darkness of the tent. “You cannot escape the world between worlds, Annabeth Chase. A lesson to be learned over and over again, it seems.”

Her fingers, heavily weighted down by her many rings, glided into the box with her tarot cards. She picked the first one and flipped it. It was the very card that Annabeth Chase had just ignorantly discarded. The Fool greeted the wicked woman with a blank stare. Gone was his carefree grin. He angrily stared at Hestia with his one glowing sea-green eye. “I have told you I would give you another chance when the time was right, Perseus, now is your chance to prove yourself.”

Her sadistic grin agitated the Fool even more, she spat the following words at him. “Do not blame me if it doesn’t work out. The ways of the future are wicked. Do not mess this up, I will not guide you, you will be all alone,” she warned him.

Perseus opened his mouth to scream but only muffled sounds made its way to the tent. Hestia laid the card flat on her palm and then blew on it. Now she could truly hear his screams. The layers of paint lifted from the card. Flake by flake, speck by speck, was carried by the air. The curtains of her tent lifted, and the particles vanished. The lights on the inside died completely. The only thing that remained were golden teeth and a pair of mischievous golden eyes that waited in anticipation.

*****

Annabeth finally got home. She checked her phone. It was **11:34 pm** and she was the first one to arrive home. It was no surprise to her. It had been that way since freshman year ever since Malcolm had left the household for university. Her parents thrived through being busy with their work and her older brother rarely visited the expensive townhouse. He lived his own life far away on the West Coast and mostly didn’t bother to check in on the family. As cold as that sounded Annabeth could very much understand him.

As children they got along perfectly, but as soon as Malcolm started high school his demeanor changed from a carefree teen into an outright cynic to his final days of senior year. Their parents had planned out their entire lives. From when they would start at an expensive elementary school, to private middle and high schools that were filled with the same bland people to the paths they would etch in ivy league schools. Annabeth was pretty sure that her mother had noted down somewhere in her calendar to congratulate her on giving birth to her second child in 2035.

The only upside they had was that their parents tried to raise them as nanny free as possible. Their father was present in the lives of the two siblings before he had been promoted several times. But by then Annabeth and Malcolm had been fairly independent. Malcolm was interested in music and played several instruments but just when he realized he wanted to be a musician, their parents immediately intervened. So, he became a lawyer like their mother and left the world of music Malcolm went on to chase money instead of happiness.

When it was Annabeth’s turn to decide what she was doing in the future she had a significant fight with her parents. Annabeth loved drawing and the arts and was set on going to the art school of her dreams, her parents crushed her dream with a harsh veto. Annabeth was supposed to follow her parents, not the other way around. She came up with a way to combine both perspectives: study architecture. It had the design elements and something practical attached to it. With her mother still saying no, but her father’s protest slowly dwindling a bit, Annabeth felt encouraged to proceed.

Athena was dead set on engineering. She had more of a steady income in a true STEM field. Her double major in Urban Design and Architecture Studies and History still put a frown onto her mother’s face. Annabeth was a Harvard legacy and decided to waste her precious time at NYU. At least they didn’t have shouting matches anymore that lasted for hours. Not that Athena had the time to do that.

Annabeth microwaved some leftovers and rushed to her bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes. She removed her nametag and placed her blouse and skirt on the ironing board. Despite her parent’s wealth, she tried to live as independently as possible. Annabeth felt like she was indebted to them as they financed nearly everything. A reason for her to get out of the house with a job on a semi regular basis.

Annabeth ate her food straight out of the container and rinsed it out. Tomorrow would be full of courses and group project meetups she was not looking forward to.

A strange feeling overcame her as soon as she laid in bed. It wasn’t the feeling of being tired, it was the feeling of a deep burden that pressed her into the soft mattress. She closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. Five…four…three…two…one. It helped. She fell asleep. But the turmoil followed her into the dreams. She dreamed about water. Dangerous waters. Being surrounded by it, not being able to swim away and get out of it. She was swallowed by it. She lost control. She was pulled into the depth of a light blue ocean that got darker the deeper she sank. Annabeth’s head turned around. A pair of sea-green eyes broke the darkness below her. She had the feeling that the individual was smiling. It didn’t matter. The eyes fell apart and turned into a soft green fog that spread throughout the darkness and took over her vision.

Annabeth’s vision turned black, but she could hear one thing. It was her mad laughter, Lady Hestia of the Hearth. The type of laughter that made one’s stomach turn and etched itself into one’s memory.

*****

Annabeth opened her eyes solely because she was getting blinded by light. It was bright outside. Too bright. Disoriented, she rolled to her left to grab her phone off her nightstand. **Where the fuck are you?!** Drew Tanaka, her groupmate, had sent her dozens of text messages. **It’s crunch time and you’re seriously flaking? What the fuck is wrong with you Chase?! Cameron also decided to not show up! Thanks guys!** “Oh shit!” the blonde screeched and threw the covers away.

It was **11:24 am** and Annabeth had overslept. **I’m so sorry! I’m on my way!** Annabeth lied and chucked her phone back to her bed again, grabbed a pile of clothes from her wardrobe and ran into the bathroom to take the quickest shower in her life. Drew wasn’t the most cordial person. She was about her work and about her work only. She was demanding but an excellent partner that would treat you with the utmost respect if you delivered. Emphasis on _if_.

Annabeth ran into the kitchen, to grab a bite and was surprised to see her father sipping his coffee. The confusion was shared.

“Where’s mom?”

“Went to the office about two hours ago.” Of course.

“Don’t you have some classes right now?” Frederick checked his wristwatch.

“Uh yeah,” Annabeth made before stealing an apple and preparing some toast. Seeing her father threw her off, but time slipping away made her focus again.

“You _don’t_ oversleep. None of you ever did.” he stated factually and raised a dark blond eyebrow. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

It was the pretense of caring. The pretense of being a father figure. Frederick only cared about what the public, employees and fellow fortune 500 CEOs could wind up knowing. Bad press was press after all, yes. Good old PR talk. But bad press could destroy important business deals and reputations for years to come.

“Nothing. Just didn’t sleep very well.”

It was clear that he didn’t believe her, but he also didn’t feel the need to pressure his daughter. Key difference to Athena. “Well in that case go to class. I hate to see money wasted.” Annabeth ignored the boiling rage that was bubbling up, called an Uber and waited outside. She’d rather be greeted by the coldness of the street rather than face the coldness at home.

*****

Annabeth took her seat next to Lee Fletcher in her Greek Architecture class. Heads had turned to the door for five seconds before everyone decided to pay attention to Dr. Thorn again. Their usually rather stern professor didn’t even care as long as Annabeth didn’t create that much noise. It wasn’t high school after all. “What’s going on?” Lee turned to her.

“I’ve never seen Drew so pissed before.” As if summoned, Drew turned around to Annabeth to give her the dirtiest look. Annabeth only mustered an apologizing frown before the Japanese student focused on the more important matters in front of her.

“I simply overslept,” hissed Annabeth as she unpacked.

“Miss Chase, you’ve already created enough turmoil. It would be better to focus on the studies at hand. I sincerely hope that you won’t turn out to be one of the many students in here that come crying to my office for some extra credit.” Ah, there was Dr. Thorn’s snark. Rumors and snickering. Annabeth blushed, nonetheless.

She grabbed her laptop and opened it. Her gray eyes widened. She was barely able to contain the loud gasp from escaping her mouth. _No, no, no! No, that’s impossible?! How in the…?!_ “What’s that?” asked Lee and pointed to her laptop.

Resting on her screen was a card. Not just any card. A tarot card. It was a very particular tarot card. It was the _Fool_. He was grinning again at her like he had the previous night in Hestia’s tent. His sea-green eye appeared to be even more vibrant than before. More details and intricacies caught Annabeth’s eye, but the blonde pushed the aesthetic analysis out of her head. How did the card manage to find her way into her laptop? How did it make its way to her _backpack_?

Annabeth remembered tossing that card into a pile of stinking junk clearly. She was playing the scenario over and over again. Did she throw it away or didn’t she? Did she have the intention of throwing it away and mixed it up somehow? Annabeth definitely had the laptop in her backpack yesterday. She went directly from her last class to her part-time job. Was her mind playing tricks on her?

“It looks interesting. I like the enlightenment aesthetic. The 18th Century and earlier times really had some wonderful art pieces including brilliant architectural structures. I wish the designs from centuries ago would make a comeback. These post-modern structures we’re constantly spoon fed are so ugly and so empty. They really do feel tiring,” her classmate sighed. A true history nerd. Annabeth grabbed the card and chucked it into her backpack. _The Fool_ was swallowed by the darkness all but his uncovered eye.

“Oh, that’s just a gift,” she lamely lied. “But yeah, I agree with you. Old aesthetics are pleasing and all.”

Dr. Thorn turned to her for the third time. Annabeth decided to shut up for the remainder of the lecture. After that she had to practically ass kiss Drew to forgive her. What a time to be alive.

*****

Annabeth met up with Piper and Silena Beauregard for a quick lunch. Silena was a friend Annabeth had made ages ago back in her summer camp days. Coincidentally, Silena was also dating head waiter Beckendorf, who did his masters in Mechatronics and Robotics. An inseparable dream team since the last year of camp ages ago.

Silena lured Piper into a conversation about ethical fashion and sustainability whereas Annabeth was downing a Caesar salad and chugging a smoothie. A smoothie which almost slipped through her hands due to her shorter pinkie. At least she didn’t spill anything. Her poor breakfast, which made her haste, left its mark.

“Jesus, Annabeth,” Silena threw her dark hair over the shoulder. “Slow down! You’ll choke!”

Her French accent and her concern were certainly adorable. Annabeth could see why Beckendorf had fallen for a grace like Silena. Truly beautiful on the inside and out.

Annabeth nodded but continued to eat like she hadn’t had a proper meal in years. Silena sighed and carried on with the conversation. Annabeth’s mind was still clouded. Was she hallucinating? No, she was sure she wasn’t. Was she on drugs? The only thing she recently took was an edible that made her vomit buckets because her friends had the brilliant idea of screwing up the ratios. And that had been over a month ago.

“Uhm… guys?” She received the attention from her bickering friends.

“Do you ever get that feeling where you’re absolutely one hundred percent an event occurred a certain way but then it turns out that you’ve remembered it wrong? But you’re still sure that it happened the way you remembered it?”

“What? Like the Mandela effect?” Silena asked and turned to her.

“Well, yes… and no. It isn’t really something the wide public mistakes. I… I threw something away… A piece of _paper_ and then it mysteriously reappeared in my backpack. I think I’m going crazy...”

“Was it something important?” Piper questioned as she twisted the cap off her green smoothie.

 _Lady Hestia certainly made it seem like it was_. Annabeth brushed that thought aside. “Just a piece of paper,” she lied.

“Hmm,” Silena thought loudly. “I think it’s just stress?”

“Stress?” Annabeth didn’t like that answer.

“Yes, stress,” her friend laughed. “Annabeth, you are in your junior year at university, trying to find internships and you are working part time as well. On top of all of your assignments. That is pretty stressful if I may say so. As honorable as it is to see you pull through with that, you’ve got me concerned. There’s only so much a body can take before it crashes. If you truly think I believe that you get your seven hours of sleep daily, you are mistaken.”

Piper shrugged. “Silena’s right. You might have misplaced the card. It’s just stress, Annie.”

“You belong in jail for calling me that, Piper.”

“But you still love me!” An evil grin. Annabeth sighed before she punched her shoulder. Hard. Piper screamed and punched her back. The situation didn’t break into a fight as Annabeth was laughing way too much and Piper went back to her preferred method of cussing her out. Silena was startled at first, then she laughed.

But her friends might have had a point. Annabeth was rushing to get home yesterday. Yesterday had been a pretty chaotic day in itself. Perhaps her mind was truly playing some games.

“Oh Annabeth,” the brunette Silena wiped a tear away and continued to laugh at the childish ways of her friends.

“Bold and brash Annabeth. Do not ever change your ways. I beg you.”

*****

Annabeth waited for the lectures to come to an end. The college student would be busy till the early evening unless she decided to skip some classes, which she wouldn’t. She had to find this Hestia fortune teller person. How on earth did she smuggle the card into her laptop? Annabeth was convinced that she had thrown the card away. The card was gone, it hadn’t been into her possession anymore.

Her friends did have a point. Her life was way too hectic and frenzied for someone of her young age. But she was convinced that her mind didn’t fail her. The weird encounter with that Lady Hestia woman, the weird games and talks… That fortune teller…that _witch_. She must have played another game with her to completely mind fuck her. Annabeth would run back to the alley and give that weird woman a lecture if it needed to be done. Coldness and annoying cyclists be damned.

Annabeth turned around to enter the street and came to a halt. Her eyes widened. “ _Huh_?!”

The blonde ran to the alley. The same old three large dumpsters were placed there again, like they always were. Gone was the large luxurious purple tent. Gone was Lady Hestia of The Hearth. Annabeth’s heart dropped. She wanted to scream. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Who would set up a tent this size for who knows how many clients for one single day? Annabeth had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The stench of the alley got to her and she backed out of it. Annabeth looked around. The street was less busy than on its peak around midday, but there were still some people walking through here and there.

A man that Annabeth had seen multiple times crossing the street stopped to enter his house. “Excuse me, sir!” the blonde crossed the road and ran up the steps after him.

The man turned around, visibly surprised. “Yes? What can I do for you?”

“You live here, right?”

“Well, obviously.” He pointed to the keys that were stuck in the door.

Annabeth had no time for getting flustered over a stupid question. “When I walked through the street here yesterday evening there had been a tent between those two houses,” Annabeth pointed to the direction of the alley. “There was a fortune teller named Hestia giving out advice for free. Have you seen how she left? Did she have other clients?”

“A fortune teller? Do you mean that circus freak show that made its way to Queens?” The man raised a confused eyebrow and simply shook his head.

“Are you sure? There hasn’t been any attraction or strange woman roaming around lately?”

“Sorry, lady. That’s the only show in that direction that I know of. There hasn’t been a circus or a fortune teller. And certainly not in a dirty alley.”

Then the man turned around to enter his home and left Annabeth and her troubled thoughts alone.

Speechless once again, Annabeth grabbed her phone and texted Reyna. **Hey, you talked about a fortune teller, right?** It took a few minutes for Reyna to answer her. **Yes and? Thought about going? ;)** Annabeth rolled her eyes. _I unfortunately was there already._ **Where are they located? Do you remember their name?** Reyna sent her the address. **They’re part of a circus show in Queens. Sorry, my bad, can’t remember the name. Something with Delphi perhaps? But let me know if they tell you something interesting :D Or do you need backup and want all of us to go?**

Annabeth nearly growled. A passerby looked at her with large eyes and quickened his steps. _Great. Everyone thinks I’m crazy,_ the blonde sighed. **I’ll let you know. On my way** **home** she texted. **See you tomorrow!** Reyna replied.

This Lady Hestia of The Hearth was a fraud. She was in no association with that circus in Queens. She came out to get a hold of her but why? Annabeth’s thoughts tried to come up with any possible excuse that wasn’t some flimsy mythological or magical bullshit. She came to no conclusion. The closest things that came to her mind were drugs or a hallucination, but the young woman was convinced that everything happened. The glowing card in her backpack was proof enough.

 _Everything is on the house, my dear. I got to meet_ you _. That is my payment_ Annabeth remembered Lady Hestia’s words. That in itself was sketchy. Nothing comes for free after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! Thank you so much for all of your comments, bookmarks and kudos!  
> You've put so many smiles on my faces :D  
> Without further ado, let's finally meet The Fool!

**_A C T_ ** _I_

**_T H E F_ ** _O O L_

**_C H A P_ ** _T E R 2 **/ 3**_

A key was inserted and turned. The door opened without an issue. Annabeth entered her home and turned the lights on. She was alone. Again. It was fine this time. She took a soft pillow from one of the posh sofas that decorated the entrance and proceeded to scream into it like a small child. Then she placed it back and straightened out the wrinkles. Whereas no normal human would notice even a fleck of dust on the mobiliary, her mother, Athena, certainly would.

The blonde pinched the bridge of her nose to calm her annoyed spirit down. It did not help. And the fact that she remembered that she had to do an assignment for Dr. Thorn didn’t help either. Annabeth made herself a simple pasta dish, placed the empty plate into the dishwasher and made her way to her room. She grabbed her laptop and tossed her backpack into the corner. It was past eight and it would take roughly three hours. Annabeth knew how tedious and torturous the assignments of her professor were. She had two weeks to hand it in, but it was naïve to believe that he wouldn’t pile up on it. Time does fly when you’ve got important tasks to do and proceed to do nothing more than productively procrastinate.

By the time she had finished half of the assignment, she had a terrible headache, her stomach demanded to be fed and her water bottle had been refilled for the third time.

“Fucking finally!” Annabeth threw the pen to the ground and fell onto her bed. She was tired but she managed to do all of the tasks. At least writing the basics down that needed to be polished sometime before handing it in. She was sleepy but a thought gnawed at the back of her head. A memory that had been forgotten.

 _The tarot_ card she remembered. The Fool was waiting for her. The anchor to her sanity. The anchor to her insanity. She didn’t know which was right. It was proof that the weird tarot reading had truly happened. That she had been in that tent with that fucking insane lady. Then again… she felt crazy regardless. Annabeth jumped off her bed and ran to her backpack.

There it was, sitting on a pile of headphones, birth control pills, three text books, two notebooks, and a hydro flask. The Fool. He was smiling and glinting at her like always. Annabeth removed the card from its university prison. Then she placed her laptop onto her desk before throwing herself back onto her bed.

She heard a door open and slam shut. The muffled voice of her mother who was probably shouting into her phone echoed. _Welcome home._

Annabeth took a close look at the card now that she was alone and had the right lighting. The vibrant colors spoke to her. Annabeth felt herself get lost in the Fool’s stare. Whoever thought about the idea of giving a simple card these looks should have received a raise. _Perseus_. _Who are you?_ she thought before a knock brought her out of her trance.

“Annabeth? Are you in there?” her mother asked through her door.

“Yes!”

“Good.” Her mother walked off.

Annoyed Annabeth blew a blonde lock out of her face. That was the only daily interaction she had with her mother. That wasn’t entirely true. She also received some demanding texts from time to time. Annabeth took one last look at the card.

“Huh?” He blinked. He blinked with his one eye. Annabeth was certain that it happened, but then…

Her eyelids felt heavier. Sleep was reaching out for her. Annabeth changed into a t-shirt and some shorts before she climbed into her pillow fortress of a bed again. She realized that she held the card in her hand. Yawning, she slipped it under one of the pillows before finally closing her eyes and entering another plane.

*****

Waves. Waves were crashing into land. It wasn’t a brutal storm. It was the soft movement of water that spewed onto a beach. The salty scent of the sea gently woke her up. Annabeth’s eyes fluttered. They slowly opened, taking in the scenery.

She was in a room that wasn’t hers. It was large and looked old, very old. It was made out of wood and looked cozy in contrast to the furniture. The room was covered in the most expensive fabrics and pieces that Annabeth had ever seen outside of an art or history book. Spanish and French brocade, heavy silks, expensive linen. Pieces from the 18th century, if Annabeth was correct. Lee had been right. The aesthetics were truly beautiful, especially seeing them in real life. Sofas that were framed with intricate golden floral embellishments. A lot of money had been spent on the carefully crafted furniture. Directly in front of her stood a mighty secretary.

Annabeth walked around it and gasped. A multitude of treasure chests stood behind the desk. They were overflowing with gold, pearls, crowns, swords, and jewels and looked like they were about to shower the wooden floor at any minute given. The light that radiated from the riches themselves was glowing so much that it nearly blinded her. But Annabeth had to know it. She had to feel it. She had to see if it was real gold.

“Ah, ah, ah, we do not touch what does not belong to us!” said an amused voice behind her.

Annabeth shrieked which made the man snort loudly. She turned around and nearly crashed straight into his chest. The blonde screamed again, covering her mouth before it got even uglier and took a step backward. She raised her head. Her breathing stopped. It was _Perseus_. It was the Fool. He was alive and smiling at her warmly. Details sprung to her eye that the simple tarot card failed to depict.

Perseus was a tall and muscular young man, not much older than she. His face was even and fairly attractive with the dimples and prominent birthmarks. His hair seemed soft underneath his pointy straw hat and it was even a little bit longer than expected. Seeing his strange pirate outfit directly made him look less weird for Annabeth. It was quite the opposite. It felt like this was the scenery of a period movie and Annabeth was completely out of place with her simple t-shirt and way too short shorts.

The pirate shirt showed much of his skin and was missing a collar. The ocean breeze blew in through a window, rustling his shirt. Another detail caught Annabeth’s eyes. The dangling golden strings that formed a sea-green tear at the end that Perseus wore as earrings.

The eye patch also seemed less frightening. It wasn’t black but made of a dark purple velvet fabric. It looked expensive. What kept Annabeth in awe again was his beautiful sea-green eye. A shade of green that seemed to be too unreal yet there it was. Captivating. A strange feeling made its way to her stomach. _He’s hot. Why is he so hot_? A blush crept up her face which he enjoyed way too much.

“Annabeth Chase,” he grinned. “I have waited so long to meet you! You truly kept me waiting.” He said in mock aggravation, but the gleam in his eye, and the slight upturn of his mouth, alluded to his amusement.

“Captain Perseus, at your command! Welcome aboard the Argo II, fastest ship in the fleet,” He took off his hat, bowed to her and Annabeth felt he was making fun of her. He acted like a joker. Like a trickster that should not be underestimated.

“My quarters are your quarters, fair maiden.” Annabeth took another look around. _Oh wow, I’m a goddamn idiot_. Of course, Perseus wasn’t just dressed as a pirate, he _was_ one. An actual fucking pirate.

Annabeth became aware of the soft rocking of the sea below her feet. She looked outside the windows at the back of the ship. The cerulean sky met a crystal-clear ocean. People of all ages, sexes, and races were engaging in activities, ranging from Fishermen, dock workers, merchants, people walking along the beach in outdated robes, drunkards vomiting into the harbor, and prostitutes whistling at passersby. In the distance stood a large city with Spanish and English architectural structures, where life seemed to be at its fullest. A living contradiction.

“Oh wow,” she gasped. Annabeth hadn’t seen _Pirates of the Caribbean_ in a long time, how did her subconscious make all of this up?

Perseus smirked behind her. _You have much to learn_ he thought while his eye rested on the amazed blonde in front of him.

“Ah yes. Beautiful city, isn’t it?” Perseus sighed and stared into the distance. Annabeth turned to look at him. His expression had softened and there was a look of longing in his face.

“However! Why choose some brick and mortar when all I need is right here?” His hands gestured to all of his riches. With the wave of his hand a bowl of fruit materialized on the large desk. Perseus grabbed himself an apple and took a bite. Annabeth’s eyes widened in surprise. This is a dream after all she reminded herself. _Of course, he can pull magic stunts_. His wide grin nearly blinded her. Annabeth was amazed that her fantasy pirate had perfectly straight, white teeth. Dental hygiene in the 18th century was non-existent, normally teeth had been worn down stubs at best, but Perseus seemed to use all of his tricks in his appearance.

“I guess your ship could be considered pretty…loaded.”

Perseus threw his head back and laughed out loud. “Loaded, she says,” he chuckled.

“I like you, Annabeth Chase.” He decided.

“Uh, thanks?” Weirdo.

He took the small steps to wander to the midsection of the ship. He studied the maps on the wall. Then his head turned to her. Annabeth blushed due to his intense stare.

“Also, did you truly need to throw me away?” He placed his hands on his hips. His sword dangled and reflected a bit of caught sunlight.

“Uh… I’m sorry?” That was all that she could muster.

Perseus sighed. “Let’s just not repeat that, Annabeth Chase. Or should I say… _Annie_.” He winked, enjoying her irritation.

“Don’t call me that,” she hissed through her teeth.

“Oh? Why?” Perseus asked as he lazily fell onto the sofa.

“I hate it.”

“That is why I will probably love referring to you as Annie.” He winked again.

“Stop it,” she demanded and was met with another round of laughter. Then something odd happened.

His eye flashed. He carelessly tossed the apple away and it disappeared into thin air. He got up to his feet, jumped up, and then he just… _floated_. Perseus was floating. Not only that, his legs dissolved to his waist in a fine dark green fog and half of his being made its way to her. He was fairly amused at her confusion and the lack of physics all of a sudden.

 _This is a dream. None of this is real._ Then why did her heart beat faster and faster?

“The world between worlds. You do not understand the rules yet. Or you refuse to see them. This shall be fun,” Perseus grinned. It was the mischievously wide grin of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

“The Cheshire Cat?” Perseus repeated curiously, turning himself upside down. His hair fell in waves, and his earring swung with the movement.

“Wait, you can read my mind?” Annabeth blushed. _Oh no, that means he knows that I think that he’s_ -

“Hot? Attractive? Maybe even your type? Yes, I _do_ ,” he said with a grin.

“Oh, kill me.” The blonde moved past his floating body and sat down on the sofa. The cushions were very comfortable, and Annabeth never wanted to get up again. Nothing in her waking life could compare. The half of Perseus followed her and eyed her pretty curiously.

“I know everything about you, Annabeth Chase. You are a very... _interesting_ person.”

She just stared blankly at him. His gaze never left hers. “What?” she asked in annoyance. This dream was getting odder and odder with each passing second.

“You are a beautiful young woman, Annabeth. I honestly don’t know why the suitors in your time do not see that.” Annabeth froze. She did not know how to react to that. Was it embarrassing or was it a compliment?

“Normally you would say thank you?” Perseus was met with silence. Her reaction made him smile again.

“Oh well, my poppet.” His legs manifested again, and he landed softly on the ground.

He looked outside the window into the distance and his back straightened as if he were seeing into the future. The rather serious expression on his face softened. Then his cunning smirk returned, and he refocused on the blonde sitting on his sofa.

“It has been a pleasure meeting you, Annabeth Chase.” He sank to one knee and took her hand in his. Her breath hitched and her gray eyes widened. An electrifying current spread throughout her entire body and although Perseus remained fairly calm, Annabeth had the suspicion that he had felt it too. The split-second widening of his eyes gave his surprise away. His pinkie brushed her shortened one. Then he raised her hand to just in front of his mouth.

Annabeth’s lips trembled. _What’s he going to do?!_ He planted a simple kiss on the back of her hand and looked up to her. That little act made the heat crawl up her face. No one had ever done that to her. No one. Not even in dreams, until now.

“Until next we meet, very soon,” he bid her farewell.

“The next time?” The way Perseus said it, it seemed like he was looking forward to meeting her again.

“Indeed. Have a pleasant day, Annabeth. Rest well, you need your energy for your studies.”

“What?”

His dimples and the soft curvature of his lips were her last memories of him. As well as the sea-green color of his eye.

*****

Annabeth awoke with a start and gasped. She pushed her blanket to the side. The blonde felt way too hot. She blinked a few times and tried to find her orientation. Gone was the marvelous merchant ship of the 18th century and its gorgeous captain’s cabin. She was at home; she was back in reality. She was in her room, lying on her bed and gasping for air like a goldfish that had lost his way to the tank. _It was so real. Too real._ Annabeth tried to grasp a cohesive thought, but she couldn’t. Perseus seemed so real, so... out of this world and yet it felt like he played a crucial part in hers. And that bastard was right, at least visually, Annabeth had nothing against his pirate self.

There was another thing that Perseus had gotten right. She had university matters to attend to, primarily another meeting with Drew and Cameron. They had to recreate a model of the Greek pantheon. They already had materials selected and parts of the written assignment distributed. Now they had to bring the model together and actually build it.

 _I know everything about you, Annabeth Chase. You are a very interesting person,_ echoed Perseus’ voice in her head. Annabeth snorted unladylike before she left the bed to grab clothes for the day. _Yeah, right off-brand Edward Cullen_ she thought _. You are a very interesting person._ Why her unconsciousness decided to bring the Fool to life would remain one of the mysteries of life. A hot shower didn’t stop the stream of thoughts either.

The moment Annabeth had gathered everything important together for her meeting, her two lectures, and left the house, she remembered something important Perseus had said. _Did you truly need to throw me into the garbage?_ So, Annabeth’s mind hadn’t played games on her. She actually had thrown the tarot card away. Then again it was nothing more than a weird vivid dream… As much as Annabeth would love to dive into the fiction that her mind had put together, it was time to face reality. Silena and Piper were right. She was stressed and her memories were playing cruel jokes on her.

Annabeth left the house and was not greeted by a furious Drew this time. She hadn’t overslept. But Annabeth’s head wasn’t really in the project. The clicks in Photoshop and Illustrator were so unusually slow and sloppy that Cameron Nguyen asked his groupmate whether everything was fine. It didn’t look better in the 3D animation program. Drew huffed and kept on writing her part of the assignment. The quicker the project was settled, the quicker the three could separate.

The torture of the group meeting was over, then the next seminar hit. Said seminar also failed to distract Annabeth but at least she was aware enough to give a coherent answer on standby-mode when her professor had randomly asked her a question. The professor huffed but went on to the next unprepared soul.

Annabeth was glad that she was finally at home and far away from her classes. Being home brought its downsides. As soon as she left the college student universe, she entered the world of foul tricks and old cards. Her mind wandered back to the weird being that Perseus was. Who was he? Why was he the Fool? Why was the Fool a _pirate_ of all things? Annabeth had the feeling that she should research the matter, but time was at an all-time low. It was the day where she could sit down and revise her work before she was too busy with shifts at _The Big House_.

“Annabeth?” Annabeth, who just wanted to go upstairs to her room, stopped. It was the voice of her mother that was coming out of the kitchen.

“Yes?”

Her raised foot was set onto the carpet again. A glass of water was put onto the pristine counter. Heels clacked on the cold stone. Athena left the kitchen with a stern expression on her face.

“Your father said you overslept.” Huh. That was new. Her parents talking about her? Her mother showing concern about her daughter’s wellbeing and health?

“Well yes-”

“Why?” Ah, there was it. The real Athena Chase.

Annabeth’s jaw dropped a little bit. The bubbling laughter that wanted to escape Annabeth’s throat died as her mother raised an eyebrow. “There’s nothing going on. I simply overslept.”

It was clear that Athena had a hard time believing that.

“Are you taking any substances?”

“Mom!” Her mother was 100% serious about that.

Athena examined her daughter one last time with a frown and sighed.

“Do not let that happen again, Annabeth. We can’t afford that.” The expression on her mother’s face would’ve made anyone else cry on the spot but at this point Annabeth was used to it.

“I won’t,” she weakly promised.

“Good. I will be in my office if you need me. Try not to need me. Do not disturb me until 9 pm.”

Annabeth simply nodded and watched her mother disappear upstairs. The breath she was holding, and felt a headache coming on. Annabeth grabbed her backpack and made her way to the kitchen. Despite knowing the ways of her mother, Annabeth couldn’t help but feel disappointed every time. Annabeth took some ibuprofen for the headache and downed a glass of water.

Her mother being busy in the hell she referred to as her office meant that she wouldn’t judge her daughter for shoving a pizza into the oven. Cheap ingredients, weird smell, okay taste. Annabeth made her way to her room and dumped her backpack. It was time to tackle more of her day to day life. She sat down at her desk, worked on her paper as the hours passed.

It came to no surprise that she fell into her bed and had to fight against falling asleep immediately as the message feed went off again. She checked her phone, answered some of her friends’ messages in the group chat and managed to see one story on Instagram before her aching body told her to put the phone down and turn the lights off. Annabeth grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself into a warm cocoon.

The fresh smell made her eyes flutter yet again. To her surprise, Annabeth had returned to the Argo II. Then again, her thoughts had circled around a certain pirate throughout the entire day. The probability of having a similar dream was pretty high.

“When your body says that it needs to rest, you should probably listen to it,” Perseus advised. Annabeth turned around to face him. He laid lazily on the sofa and played with an apple, similar to the day before. He threw it into the air and easily caught it before jumping to his feet.

“Welcome back, Miss Chase.” His demeanor was of a more honest nature than the dream that she had the day before. The cockiness was still there, but his smile was honest.

“What? Am I going to dream about you every night? Why? Why doesn’t my mind put something new together? This doesn’t make any sense.” The logistics and logic of those dreams were odd. Why did her subconsciousness cling to Perseus so much?

“Dream?” Perseus sounded offended. Being called a fraction of imagination wasn’t the highest form of a compliment.

“There will be a lot for you to learn.” The Fool shook his head and the earrings swayed with the movement.

“What do you mean by that?” Annabeth narrowed her eyes. A wolfish grin manifested itself onto his deeply tanned face. Then he shrugged it off.

“I mean nothing by that. I’m only hinting! You have to draw the conclusion yourself. Those are the rules.”

“Of what game?” Silence. Amusement twinkling in his eyes.

“Wow.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. _Unhelpful fuck_. Perseus’s rich laughter roared. _The world between worlds_. That expression he had used before popped into her head. She didn’t register Perseus’ nodding to her right conclusion. But the blonde had heard that expression somewhere else. Annabeth tried to remember it. The when and where. Red. No. The color orange found its way to her head. Followed by golden teeth and eyes that laid in the shadows.

Furrowed brows. A sour expression. The flash of lighting hitting the ocean and the sudden blinding light made Annabeth scream. She stumbled as the ship began severely to rock in the waters. Swift movements; his hands reached out to steady her. The young woman fell into his arms. Her hands were pressed against his chest, her head rested on his shoulder. Her flustered self held onto him. The waters calmed. The shouting crowds outside were quiet once more. Annabeth’s heart got the time it needed to beat in its normal rate. The apple in his hand rolled to the wooden floor.

A serious expression rested on Perseus’ face. “Are you alright?” he softly asked her and helped her up. The tropical heat made sure that she wasn’t shivering in her thin pajamas.

Annabeth looked up at him. He had placed his large hand on her shoulder, and it felt like the touch was burning her. She swallowed and nodded. The hand slipped away. The lingering feeling remained.

“Very well.” He cleared his throat. Annabeth turned her head. She really didn’t want to face him. Being afraid of thunder hadn’t been fun. Her fear of spiders was even worse. But as she looked around, she caught the new changes of the quarters.

“ _What_? Where did this room come from?” To the right of the secretary was an open space where a luxurious bed and impressive armoire stood. The night before there had been nothing but a wooden wall.

“I told you Annabeth, I like you. And me liking you means that I have no issues showing you the colors of the place.” He had unveiled what was left secret.

 _The true colors of this place. Aha_ Annabeth simply thought but she had to admit that she was impressed by the design and the décor of the place. The sword that was hung onto the wall and reflected the sunrays. If Annabeth could exchange the furniture with the plain Ikea set in her room, she would in a heartbeat.

“You are a true pirate at heart. You surprise me, Annabeth,” laughed Perseus.

“Am not.” Annabeth had the feeling that she sounded like a fussy child.

“You do,” Perseus confirmed and enjoyed her fumes rising up. The urge to stick her tongue out was strong but she didn’t want to give him more ammunition. Instead of teasing her again, Perseus put his hand out. He offered her the red apple that he had pulled out of thin air.

“Oh, thank you.” Annabeth took it. Despite being a piece of fiction, the apple felt real. Smelled real. Her lips got a hold of it and she took a small bite. A soft moan escaped her lips and made sure that the redness in her face stayed. Embarrassed, she saw how Perseus’ looked away before a puzzled look took over his handsome features.

The flavor. The flavor was surreal. Out of this world. It wasn’t just a plain apple; it was a fusion of flavors that the small fruit was made of. Annabeth caught a subtle hint of a delicious watermelon, the sweetness of honey and the aftertaste of a strawberry. It was the best fruit she had ever tasted.

“Have you never eaten an apple in your life before?” Perseus tilted his head. He thought she was a rich girl. Seeing someone enjoy a piece of fruit that much with her economical background was incredibly odd. Then his eye focused.

“No, you had apples this morning.” He looked back up to her face which resembled the color of a cooked lobster.

“So what? This one’s just particularly good.” Now the pirate was truly laughing.

Perseus shook his head. “You are really something, Miss Chase.”

“Shut up,” she lamely retorted. His eyes wandered down and focused on her chin.

He closed the distance between them. His tanned hand reached out. Annabeth only registered the warmth of this finger as he lifted it up again. It felt like her brain was overstimulated and had to slow down to process everything that had just happened. A single droplet of apple juice rested on his fingertip. Perseus examined it like he had never seen anything like that before. The finger got closer to his face.

 _Oh no, he wouldn’t_ \- Annabeth saw his pink tongue dart out and lick the drop off his finger.

“What would I not do?” he asked her with a smirk.

“I get why they call you the Fool.”

Annabeth didn’t like the airy feeling in her gut. She wanted it to stop. She set the apple with the bite mark onto a small coffee table in front of the sofa and stretched her legs before standing up. The blonde worked her way through the midsection of the room where more of Perseus riches were displayed. More gold and swords. A large portrait hung on the wall. It showed him steering a ship, his ship and shouting.

Annabeth’s eyes continued to admire the artworks on the wall. Her interest caught a map that Perseus had stared at earlier. It was an old yellowed map that showed the Caribbean Isles as well as parts of Central and South America.

“Oh, to set sail and roam the world. Steal from the rich and share some rum with the crew.” Perseus sounded dreamy behind her.

“I know that pirates were brutal dirty vagrants -” that made the real pirate laugh. “but I bet that actually being on the ocean and wide in the open is freeing.”

“You have no idea.” Envy dug itself a hole into Annabeth’s chest. Just as Annabeth turned around, the sad smile on Perseus’s face slipped away. His cheery expression took over again.

“Well. At least you get to live this scenario.”

Instead of commentating, the Fool just walked past her to the secretary and took his seat. He looked outside the window for a second again. Clouds drew shadows on the waters.

The black-haired man sighed. “It is time, Annabeth. Until we meet again. And… Well, I wish you a pleasant time at work later,” he winked. Annabeth rolled with her eyes and let herself fall onto the sofa.

“Don’t remind me.”

That was unfortunately where that dream ended for her. The young college student woke up with a groan and the image of Perseus’ flicking tongue in her mind. Something that would hopefully not cloud her entire day. But when she got out of her bed, she realized that food rested in her stomach. Just as if she had eaten a real apple before falling asleep.

The day slowly progressed until it was time for her shift at her job. Her casual jeans and cardigan were exchanged for the black and white waiter look. Her curls were put into a tight bun and a fake smile was plastered on Annabeth’s face. She joined Reyna and Paolo Montes who jumped in for Piper at the bar last minute. A kittenish smile, the pretense of a smile in their eyes, and the wallets opened up more. Little by little. Flirt by flirt. Too much, too much. Reyna gawked Annabeth who laughed at customers’ jokes, who made cute remarks and seemed way happier than usual.

“Are you okay? Did you take something?” Reyna whispered as they passed each other.

Annoyance. She pressed her mouth into a thin line. There was the old Annabeth. “I’m more than fine!” She sounded offended before she brought table eight a couple of club sandwiches and sparkling water. Reyna merely raised a dark eyebrow before placing the order in the computer in the corner of the dining area.

Not much later, the two were alone in the backroom. Paolo had to rush to his second job and said his hasty goodbyes. “Sorry for asking, but you’re in an unusually good mood,” Reyna stated.

Annabeth sighed and slipped into her shirt. “I guess? Why is everyone thinking that I’m taking drugs somehow? You’re asking the exact same question as my parents, only that it was in the context of me oversleeping.”

Reyna’s eyes widened before she burst out laughing. “You’re joking, right?”

Annabeth shook her head. “I thought having a movie star as a parent like Piper is super annoying, but nothing kills me more than your parents. Oversleeping means you’re taking drugs? Wow. Overreacting, much?”

Reyna slipped into her green coat, a grin still on her face. “But don’t deflect, Annabeth! I know you well enough by now! What’s going on?”

Annabeth’s mind went back to a certain card which remained in her backpack. But her thoughts didn’t circle around the future or crystal balls. They circled around Perseus.

“I just had really sweet dreams as of lately.”

“Dreams?” Reyna sounded skeptical. There was another dimension behind that simple statement of Annabeth’s. Her friend nodded and grinned.

“Yes. Dreams.”

*****

Annabeth laughed at Perseus’ remark. They had gotten closer in their short time together. He truly _did_ know her. Her fascination for beauty, for the arts, for design. The fact that she fled into romantic worlds of heroism and recklessness. Some memories of hers as well as most of her fears. The fact that he was a fun companion and made her anticipate the dark hours of the day. As soon as time was set to make them find each other again, Perseus made her swoon.

The way Perseus floated in the cabin and rotated on his own made him look like the living Persian carpet from Aladdin. Unreal and hilarious. Sometimes he floated with or without his legs in the room. It seemed so utterly out of this world and bizarre, yet it fit the narrative of the Fool. His uplifting demeanor rubbed off on her. At least in this world. At least in her dreams she could be more of an optimist instead of the frustrated realist.

Perseus’ Cheshire Cat smile followed her. “Why do you refer to me as the Cheshire Cat?” he asked her. “Aren’t there other characters in Lewis Carroll’s novel you could compare me to?”

“You know Alice in Wonderland? _You?_ A pirate from seventeen something?” That didn’t make any sense. Alice in Wonderland was published in 1865, about a century after Perseus lived.

“Of course, I do know some classics. Not by their entirety. Your memories do help me apart from other bits I’ve heard throughout the time.” His feet landed softly on the ground.

Annabeth froze. “Other bits you’ve heard? How?”

Perseus wandered through the length of the captain’s cabin. He seemed agitated somehow. An unpleasant surprise. Like he had bitten into a rotten apple. “La bruja,” he spat.

“La what?” The witch? Annabeth’s Spanish was very limited. His Adam’s apple rose.

“Whenever she uses one of us and places us on the table, we can hear conversations. We can feel emotions again. We can see glimpses into the stars. Into the future. Not much but mudded pictures that pass like forgotten thoughts. We are close to being whole again.” Perseus spoke with true pain.

Annabeth’s heart sank. She got up to her feet and before she had realized it, she had placed her hand on his soft and warm cheek. Perseus was as surprised as she was as his sea-green eye directly pierced her gray ones. She removed her hand. Her palm tingled.

“What do you mean by that? You can listen in to conversations as you’re being used as cards?” Who knew how many tarot sessions that weird woman had? How long they went. With whom they went. And the cards could listen to them. Feel their feelings. Hear their whispers and prayers. Their thoughts and agony. Seal their destinies. _Who are those people?_ Annabeth asked herself. She only met one out of god knows how many.

“We aren’t lifeless, Annabeth.” Perseus looked broken. She couldn’t see the truth yet. The parallels. The dimensions. The world between worlds. For her, he was a shell.

“But how does all of this work? When I had my session with Lady Hes-”

Perseus’ face hardened. He was furious. “Do not speak her name!”

Thunder clapped outside. The sea shook but Annabeth grabbed a bookshelf and was better prepared than the last time.

Perseus sighed. His hair fell into his face and covered it. Water slapped against the windows of the ship before the sea decided to calm down. “I’m sorry. She… she… she is cunning. She is… the reason why I’m here. On this ship. The reason why I’m trapped.”

Annabeth’s mouth dried up. The fortune teller locked him up on this ship? _How_?

“You’re trapped on this ship? You have the beautiful ocean in front of your door, and you can’t leave this wooden box? What life is this?” That conversation and the dream itself took such a weird twist. Perseus knew that it was too soon. That she didn’t give his words the right significance. Yet.

“None,” he truthfully answered.

*****

Papers had to be handed in. Borrowed books had to be returned. A presentation for the 3D model of another ancient building had to be held in two days. Finals that seemed far away, stood brightly in front of Annabeth with flashing red alarm signs. On top of that, the shifts that she had to take took a toll on her. Her body ached, she was plagued by headaches on a frequent basis and her hands hurt from writing and typing and carrying various things all the time.

The only time where Annabeth could relax, the only time where Annabeth could let her guard down, where she could be herself for a few moments, was in her dreams. The place where she was reunited with Perseus and saw him every night.

“Oh, fuck it.” Annabeth pressed save, updated the file in her Google drive, and shut her laptop off.

“Finally,” she sighed. Annabeth sat on Piper’s bed and rubbed her neck. She would take another look in the morning before handing the paper in.

“Shut it!” Piper complained and hastily pressed the keys of her MacBook. The brunette revised her final paragraph, edited words out, and then stretched everything out with the formation tool.

“Okay. I’m almost done. Twenty pages so far. Think I’ve got yet six more pages to cover.”

“When do you have to hand it in?” Annabeth let herself fall onto a soft pillow.

“Oh, in roughly fifteen minutes.”

“WHAT?!” Annabeth jumped back up. Piper rolled her eyes.

“Calm down, please. I do my best work under pressure. And I’ve got this! Just as long as you don’t distract me all too much.”

“Incredible,” Annabeth muttered. The fact that the blonde didn’t have hair loss due to all the burdens on her mind was a wonder, but Piper truly lived a dangerous life. Silence spread throughout the room as Piper scrolled through her pages and clicked a few times. “And sent! Thank god!”

Piper let herself fall onto her bed as well and raised her arms over her face as Annabeth’s pillow crashed onto her. The young women laughed. At least a little bit to get off their minds. Piper’s face sobered up. She sat upright again as Annabeth supported herself on her elbows.

“So… Reyna said you did some drugs or something?”

Annabeth groaned, grabbed the pillow next to her, and pressed it against her face. “Why would she talk about this with you? This is really unnecessary.”

“Perhaps because she’s a concerned friend that is looking out for you and tries to find some solutions to help you in a particular situation? Sometimes friends need to brainstorm a little bit before giving you some advice.”

“No need to get all psychological with me,” muttered Annabeth like a child. Piper’s laughter was contagious, but Annabeth fought against the need to join her.

“I know you’re busy with work and other stuff that’s going on in your life, but hey,” Piper reached out for Annabeth’s hand.

“Please talk to us! We’re here for you, whether it’s something upsetting you, or family matters. Whatever.”

“It’s not that. Not entirely,” confessed Annabeth. She didn’t know where the urge of spilling her secret came from. The blonde took a deep breath.

“I went to the fortune teller,” she blurred out. Her friend gasped. She pressed her hand against the forehead of a dumbfounded Annabeth.

“No fever. Seriously? That sounds very much not like you. What happened to the real Annabeth?”

“Hush,” laughed the blonde and slapped the hand away. “But yes. It was a… coincidence.”

“Well. We had-” Weird magical moments happening. “A _conversation_. About life. And love and whatnot. The future and that sort of bullshit.” Piper sat down on a chair in anticipation.

“Well…she gave me this card.” Annabeth stood up and reached into her backpack. The thick tarot card left a tingling sensation in her hand. Annabeth showed her the old card. **_Le mat_**.

“The Fool?” Annabeth had forgotten that Piper had lived for a year in Paris in her sophomore year of high school.

“Yes. I picked that one and she wanted me to keep it. And well…” Annabeth licked her lips. She didn’t know how to phrase it properly.

“I have had dreams ever since. Really vivid dreams. And when I dream… I see him. Perseus.” Annabeth pointed to the grinning pirate that was depicted.

“Perseus, huh. Odd name but interesting deck. The art style is really pretty! I actually can’t really date this. I might need to keep this so that I can find out more about it.” The thought of giving the Fool to someone else was nearly heartbreaking.

“Let me take a picture if that’s okay!” Relief. Annabeth still wasn’t all too pleased but agreed.

“Also, I didn’t know people were naming their cards. Interesting. Anyway, what happens in those dreams? With Perseus?” Piper dug deeper.

Her friend sighed. It was very uncomfortable speaking up about this. But it was also fairly freeing to share her little secret. To share the surface-level knowledge about Perseus.

“Well… we talk, we laugh, we joke, we eat together. He tells me about his life and he just gets me… we just have a really good time.” Her smile could not be prevented. Perseus had become an anchor to her sanity in the few weeks that they’ve shared.

“Oh? Oh,” Piper made and raised a defined brow. She concluded they must have a _really_ good time together.

“What do you mean?” Annabeth was confused.

“I mean…” Piper’s brown eyes wandered back to the card. “He does look fairly handsome in this,” the card was handed back to Annabeth. Shivers. An electric impulse. Multiple different feelings roaming freely through her body. But first and foremost a wave of calmness. Of peace.

“But… Annabeth… You’re essentially crushing on a fictional character. Don’t you realize that?” Annabeth’s gray eyes widened.

“Excuse me?!” she shrieked.

“Please! That’s nothing to be embarrassed about! This is fairly normal even. There are so many people that dive into fandoms, artworks and such that they just crush on people. Whether they’re real or fictional. I must admit, Alan Rickman as Snape had something.”

“You have a weird taste in men.”

“Trust me I know.” Their thoughts circled back to Jason. The friends shared a saddened smile.

“But, let’s get back to you and Perseus.” Oh no.

“Your mind is trying to treat yourself and project feelings on this being. You’re seeing what you want to see in this tarot card.“ Annabeth’s brain told her that Piper was right. And Annabeth’s heart did not like that one bit.

“I don’t know if that’s the key to your future. You’ll have to figure that one out.” Piper’s finger was tapping on the grinning Fool.

 _A crush on a fictional character? Projection?_ Reality was far less romantic. Far less fun. “And what do I do? Do I make it stop? Or live with this… this _crush_?” Annabeth carefully asked.

“As long as you’re not one of those people that obsess over fictional characters so much that there isn’t room for anything else in their head, you should be fine, I think?”

Annabeth had the daunting feeling that it might have been too late for that.

*****

It was weird. The next dream was weird. It was the same old, same old yet it also wasn’t. Perseus was smirking and grinning his wolfish grin like always. Revealing something but not all too much. Annabeth’s thoughts wandered back to the conversation she had with Piper a few hours ago.

“You are correct,” he laughed. “Your dear friend Piper is a nice person. She wants to do some research about me, yes? She’s able to uplift people and read them. Magnificent trait. Bright and friendly. I like her.“

Something agitating was bubbling up in Annabeth. Something that made her furious both at Perseus _and_ Piper. Jealousy. Mentions of a crush. Annabeth immediately threw that thought away and focused on something else, literally anything else. The wooden floor, it’s colors, the shape, and sizes of each piece. The number of windows. What shade of blue did the sky exactly have? How many knickknacks laid around? Oh, there were chests full of gold that could be counted! Coin, after coin, after coin.

“Argh!” Perseus held his head and squinted his eye. “Would you stop switching back and forth with your thoughts? I’m getting dizzy.”

Annabeth’s anger was directed at him. Perseus held his hands up in defense. “How about you learn something about privacy, _Edward Cullen?_ ” she spat.

“No need to constantly use my thoughts against me.” Her arms were crossed, the softness in her face was gone. She was bitter and she wanted him to know it. And he did know it.

“First of all, who even is that Edward individual? I’m sorry Annabeth, but it doesn’t make any difference between you opening your mouth to speak or closed lips. I can hear you regardless. Thoughts or spoken words. I haven’t chosen this. It bothers me just as much.” Perseus defended himself. Annabeth knew deep down that there was nothing that Perseus had done wrong, but she had to direct her anger at someone. Someone that wasn’t her. Perseus sparked the jealousy she felt for Piper, so he had to suffer the consequences.

The blonde had crossed her arms and walked up and down in the space.

“Why does it even matter?” Annabeth huffed and ignored him. “Piper’s right. This is all some weird coincidence. These are all odd and weird dreams.” Hurt took over Perseus’ features.

“None of this is important in the grand scheme of things. You aren’t real. This isn’t real. You are a fictional character, a smiling figure on some piece of fancy cardstock and I project… things into you. A distraction.” Now the Fool was enraged.

The ship shook and the winds howled outside. Waves were lifted into dangerous heights. And yet none of this impressed Annabeth. This isn’t real. He doesn’t hold any power in this.

“Insolent child,” he darkly chuckled and shook his wavy hair. The bitterness soured the mood in the room. “Dismissing the truth in front of your eyes like it's nothing.” His rich baritone sounded unusually coarse.

“Insolent child?! Who’s talking?! You look like you’re barely older than me!” Annabeth wanted to point her index finger to him but decided that Perseus didn’t need more proof of her being incredibly childish at that moment.

“I am a great captain and have an entire ship and crew at hand! I have set sail over the seven seas and fought the Spanish, British and vagrants alike!” Annabeth’s disrespect and underestimation greatly displeased him. His hands on his waist and his dangling sword did nothing to scare her off, however.

“Oh really? Have you already forgotten what you’ve said to me? What kind of pirate are you that you’re locked in your own ship and can’t leave?” Now they both were facing each other very closely. So close that Annabeth could see the fine lines in his iris and so close that Perseus saw a birthmark at the arch of her eyebrow.

A knock on the door drove them apart. Annabeth jumped backward with a shriek and fell onto the sofa. Perseus’ head turned to the big door. “Yes?”

To Annabeth’s surprise, the door actually opened with a loud screech.

“Capitán, we have stored the food, cleaned the decks and will do our last preparations in the city. Everything should be settled fairly soon.” The man did not enter but Annabeth could see his shadow and the tip of a brown nose at the door. He had an accent. Spanish.

“Thank you, Leo!”

“Mi Capitán.” This Leo person’s shadow slightly bowed before closing the door again. Silence took over the room.

“What in the fuck was that?” Annabeth stared at the door.

“Did you _lie_ to me? You _can_ leave this place!” Furious her head turned to the ship’s captain.

The good old mischievous Perseus had returned with a joyful gleam in his eyes that said so much and nothing at all at the same time.

“Well, I never said that _other_ people couldn’t enter. You have also intruded this place,” he winked.

Now Annabeth was boiling with rage. “You…argh!” She rubbed her temples.

“Are you also lying about the eye patch? Is this some pirate gimmick? What’s underneath there? I bet your eye is perfectly fine and you’re wearing this only for the aesthetics!”

Perseus laughed so loud and so much that he needed to place his hand against the wall to keep his balance. “You…you really are something, Annabeth Chase. Your boldness and bluntness make you adorable!”

Flushed face be damned, the blonde was still pissed at him. “You truly want to know what lies underneath there?”

“Yes,” she rolled her eyes. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.”

“That is indeed true,” Perseus nodded. He licked his lips and his features shifted to pure cunningness.

“If you truly want to know…” His left hand wandered to the fabric that covered half of his handsome face. Then the fingers simply pulled on his eye patch and the grin on his face vanished.

Annabeth woke with a start again. Sea-green. That was all that she remembered. A fog that had clouded her vision. Darkness. Reality claiming her again. “Oh, damn you, Perseus!” she cursed. Annabeth didn’t know whether her mind was playing games with her. She had the feeling that she could truly hear his roaring laughter in her mind.

Annabeth looked at her phone and immediately closed her eyes again with a groan as the light blinded her. **05:37 am**. Way too early to start the day but also too late to try to find some sleep again. It was so quiet that Annabeth could hear the muffled voices of her parents as they walked down the stairs. She swore that she heard her mother laugh, something that hadn’t happened in years. Seemed like her parent’s marriage wasn’t entirely broken. The door shut and the voices stopped. The young woman was alone again. She made the decision to get up and actually sit down at her desk to study so that she could get some sleep afterward. To meet Perseus in her dreams and apologize as Annabeth knew that she had acted foolishly.

Working at those crazy hours was punishment enough. She made herself breakfast an hour later which she ate slowly only to resume her studies groggily. It was roughly eight in the morning when Annabeth decided that she would take a break and catch up on some sleep. A small nap could do wonders. The blonde set the alarm clock on her phone and returned to her pillow fortress. She closed her eyelids and waited to drift into sleep.

The next time she opened her eyes she stared at the same white ceiling that was in her room. “Huh?”

Annabeth sat up and was disoriented. She was in her bed. She hadn’t left her room. No sea salt, no warmth, no breeze, no wood underneath her feet. No ship. No dream. No Perseus. Nothing. Sleep did not bring her to the Fool like it usually did. Her mind was in ruins. _Was that it? Will I never see him again?_ Panic, pure panic rose in her chest. Annabeth’s last time with Perseus had been a stupid fight that was clouded by her disliking Piper’s interest as his being as a card.

The rest of the day wasn’t particularly better. Annabeth went with a very disturbed mind to work and left that way. The overly cheery Annabeth from a few nights before was gone. Her thoughts were occupied with something else. Someone else. The college student had her bartender shift that night and even had to repeatedly ask customers about their orders. Something she had never done before and was noticed by the regulars as well as her peers.

“Are you alright?” asked Beckendorf. He was alarmed. Her behavior was so not Annabeth. Annabeth was one of the best staff members he had. She was always on time, never got sick, and gladly covered shifts for her colleagues despite being occupied with her studies.

“Yes, it’s just… sleep. Finals and all.”

“Oh yeah, true.” Beckendorf was still studying as well after all.

“But are you sure that you’re fine?” he questioned. “I’ve seen you on some really rough days and this is nothing in comparison. I know that we both hate flaky people but seriously Annabeth. If you’re feeling that unwell, then-”

“No, no! I can do this! I’m fine! Trust me!” Annabeth swore and forced herself to focus on the tasks ahead. Beckendorf gave her one last glance. Then he nodded.

“Okay,” he spoke before he went on to greet new guests that were waiting to be seated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...?
> 
> The last chapter of Act I will get published on Monday :D
> 
> What are your thoughts? :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg! Thank you for all of your comments and kudos! You keep me so motivated :D  
> Well, let's move forward with the final chapter of the first act! A massive 10k chapter just for you guys :D

**_A C T_ ** _I_

**_T H E F_ ** _O O L_

**_C H A P_ ** _T E R 3 **/ 3**_

The next dream was where Annabeth profoundly apologized to Perseus. She did not want to be in bad blood with the one person that kept his arms open for her. Perseus was truly surprised. He thought her anger would remain for several days. That they would probably continue to discuss and fight. He knew her by heart. Holding grudges were Annabeth’s usual ways. But alas. Both had something different in their minds.

His hands found hers and he spun her in the room. At first, she was confused, then she sank into his touch and laughed at his antics. “There is nothing that has to be forgiven, poppet.” Poppet. A name she truly liked. It made a sweet smile appear on his lips. The sea-green eye radiated happiness. Positivity.

Annabeth pressed herself against him in their embrace. His scent of the ocean was everything she could smell, and she had nothing against it. It brought her a sense of stability. Of continuity. Her nap made her nearly drown in panic at the thought of her never seeing the Fool again. In reality the fool had been her. Annabeth never napped. Never. Annabeth only saw Perseus when she dove deep into her sleep. When the exhaustion grabbed her and forced her consciousness to give up and get some rest. Time worked differently apparently. A mere hour of sleep wasn’t enough for her mind to seek Perseus, she needed more time to find him and manifest herself onto his ship.

Separating from their closeness was something that displeased both greatly. Annabeth missed the warmth and comfort of his arms and Perseus missed how wonderful and perfect she felt around him. Missing each other. Waiting for each other every night. That feeling wasn’t entirely new. It was like a poison that slowly clouded their minds, a parasite that controlled their narrative. A yearning they had never experienced before.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Don’t thank me, I thank you,” he responded. The smile they shared was warm. It was warm and it radiated something more. Another feeling Annabeth couldn’t place yet, but it made her heart that was beating way too fast even faster. And it only got faster and louder as Perseus took her small hand in his to bring her to the sofa.

*****

Sometimes reality dragged and stretched itself into eternity. Moments that didn’t want to pass. Moments that wanted to haunt you to remind you of every little mistake, of every little flaw in your logic. But sometimes it was the polar opposite. Sometimes reality crashed at you at full speed. So fast that there’s almost no time to recover. No time to heal as reality pushed you further into the unknown. That moment was most likely in hindsight. The dawning thought.

The finals were brutal, and the only time Annabeth got to rest was with Perseus in her dreams. He even helped her study. She didn’t know how, but he managed to transfer her college textbooks and notes into her dream. He had absolutely no idea what her studies contained exactly, Perseus saw her as an amazing future builder and architect which made Annabeth blush and punch his shoulder. His admiration sent shivers down her spine and filled her with a light gut feeling.

Annabeth had to bite back her smile every time she explained a term and he nodded along with great interest. Perseus powers were unfortunately limited as he could not bring electronic devices into her dream. Her smartphone and laptop would have been of great help, but the pirate had already done so much for her.

He grabbed her books with great interest and flipped through them. “I never really thought about it, but can you actually read?” Illiteracy had been widespread in Perseus’ time period.

Perseus, who sat cross-legged on his beautiful secretary, nearly fell off from it. His straw tricorn hat rolled onto the floor, basically to the feet of Annabeth who sat on the warm floor. The roaring laughter brought tears as large as the stones from his earrings. He wiped them away with his puffed sleeve.

“You wound me, poppet,” Perseus winked, and Annabeth blushed. She wouldn’t have minded taking that textbook to hide her face in it. “I have to have some sort of literacy as a captain.”

That made sense. He had to navigate, set contracts even if they were lewd ones and manage the finances of his men. A huge responsibility. Perseus had to have some sort of literacy even if it wasn’t comparable to Annabeth’s modern level. Perseus was _different_ , not stupid. His cunning spirit was more than enough proof of that. Annabeth didn’t know how he managed to get a captain position in such young years, but the Fool had to have offered something of great value to his crew if they agreed to set sail to follow him everywhere. Even to their own demise if it had to be so.

“This is obviously not something I would read in my free time. Not to my liking. You shall have the pleasure.” He jumped from the desk and sat next to her on the floor.

“Thank you.” The redness hadn’t faded entirely but Annabeth felt less awful at her weird remark. She was glad that the Fool didn’t feel insulted. He was rather fairly amused.

Her notes and pens were scattered around her and each and every single item was greatly inspected by Perseus. He had never seen the colorful books of the rich, he had never drawn with her fancy pens and he had never held the modern version of parchment.

Annabeth’s fascination with Perseus' fascination made the blonde nearly forget that she had an important exam in a few hours. As much as she hated it, she went back to study mode and let Perseus gawk at the small little wonders of the 21st century. And when Annabeth woke up, she came to the realization that her panic for the upcoming hours had vanished entirely.

*****

They did it. Projects were handed in. Papers waited to be graded. Finals were finally over for the college students. The relief that Annabeth, Piper, Reyna, Hazel, and many other of their peers shared flooded the group chats and Instagram feeds. They had brief moments of peace and happiness that would soon be clouded by the upcoming semesters and internships that finally had to be planned and arranged. The way that Annabeth jumped into Perseus arms in her next dream made him press her against his body even harder.

“I’m so relieved. A few moments to catch some breath,” she sniffled. His thumb caught a tear that tried to roll down her cheek.

“Then there is no reason to cry, my wonderful Annabeth.” His wonderful Annabeth.

“For me there is.” The way her plump lips drew a smirk on her face was truly out of this world.

“In that case, we shall celebrate the end of your studies, and your newfound freedom.”

“I would very much like that,” Annabeth agreed. She sounded breathless. She felt breathless. Celebrate with Perseus? How would that be? Only the two of them surrounded by riches and living history.

“That is a secret I’m going to keep for a while, my dear. We shall celebrate soon.”

Their level of intimacy rose with each and every new dream. Annabeth liked the way their fingers intertwined and the way their foreheads touched. And she loved the way he made her feel.

*****

The next shift at _The Big House_ was yet another fun and cheery one. Guests and even the boss Mr. Brunner were surprised at the collective engagement and good mood of nearly each and every single staff member. From dishwasher to head waiter. Everyone did their part to spread a little bit of their happiness. To contaminate the entire two floors of the restaurant with a spree of relief and a good mood.

Reyna had talked about a party that she and Thalia wanted to throw to celebrate their little break.

“Nothing all too big. More a sit-in, some booze and weed,” she proposed.

The friends were intrigued. Whereas Piper felt too energized and wanted to hit the clubs, Hazel and Annabeth were more than just happy to have a gathering in a small circle to get their college troubles off their mind. No need to think how the last year would soon start for them and true adulthood came closer and closer with each passing day.

“Alright, I’m in,” Hazel declared, and Annabeth nodded along with her.

“Can we at least try some clubs next week?” Piper pouted. She didn’t drink but she loved creating a ruckus on the dance floor. Party nights with Piper always ended in a fun yet also slightly horrifying way.

“Do you seriously think we’d be able to step into any club at the moment?” Annabeth questioned and changed into her regular set of clothes. Even the shabbiest establishment would be crowded and none of them could pull the _Yes I’m a very important person_ card.

“Let me dream, Chase.”

“I could but why should I let you? Annoying you in this state is way funnier.”

“Oh, you’re just bullying me because I’m not some certain super-hot boy.” Piper’s grin was of an evil nature.

_Shut up!_ said the panic that rose in Annabeth’s eyes. It was too late. Hazel and Reyna haltered their movements, Reyna stopped adjusting her jacket and Hazel just released her locs from their tied-up prison.

“Hold on, _what_?” asked the chef of the group. “What super-hot boy? What the fuck, Chase? Did you seriously take my comment about your bland love life to your heart?”

Annabeth wanted to scream. “What? No!” She tried to defend herself. A poor attempt as Reyna started to laugh.

“But in all seriousness,” the Puerto Rican chuckled. “What boy? Don’t leave us out of the loop, please. What man did win the fair maiden heart of Annabeth all of a sudden.”

“Dream man!” Piper added, which made Annabeth want to strangle her.

The blonde sighed. There was no way out. Her friends’ curiosity always got the best out of them and hearing the latest news about Annabeth’s bed and love stories or the lack thereof were group favorites much to her dismay.

Annabeth sighed and started to speak up. “I actually went to the fortune teller.”

Reyna raised a surprised eyebrow. “The one in Queens?” _No_.

“Uh yeah,” Annabeth babbled. “Well… she gave me a card. The Fool. And on it’s some pirate dude. Stop staring at me like that Hazel, I’m not making that up!”

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Annabeth left the Fool under her pillow where he rested most of the time. “And well…” she licked her lips and then continued.

“I dream about him. He’s…” A true dream man. “a nice guy,” Annabeth finished her sentence. That was all she could bring out. All that wasn’t too embarrassing. Silence befell the room.

“You sound somewhat unhinged, I’m going to state it bluntly,” Reyna commented. Hazel and Piper were howling with laughter.

“ _Reyna_!” Annabeth’s face went red, and she felt terribly insulted. Her angry gaze crossed eyes with a crying Piper. Everything was her fault. Annabeth knew it was to help her and get her out of her shell. But doing that at her expense was a foul byproduct.

“What?” Reyna shrugged. “I said what I said and I’m right, right?” Annabeth’s backstabbing friends nodded along with the dark-haired woman.

“When I said go to the fortune teller to get some advice, I meant actually meeting someone. What you could do to find small improvements. The expectations you might need to manage. Not fleeing into a dream fantasy as fun as that may be.” Annabeth’s mouth was pressed to a thin line. She knew that her friends were more than right. But the fantasies were the only fun in her life. The only time where she could almost do as she pleased. And the person she dreamed about was perfect.

“Oh please!” Hazel rolled her eyes. “At least she’s getting some action, even if that’s only in her dream, am I right, Piper?”

“Shut the fuck up, Levesque!” That made Annabeth laugh for the first time in the cramped-up space.

A knock silenced the cackling young women. “Can I come in?” Beckendorf asked from outside.

“Yes!” they all answered.

“First congrats, guys!” Cheers roared in the room and rib crushing bearhugs á la Beckendorf were distributed.

“But let’s back to business.” He handed out their shifts in the group chat.

“Any complaints?” There were none. “Great! So, what are you guys up to with your partially new found freedom?”

“Getting a second job,” groaned Reyna.

“Managing internships,” Hazel begrudgingly said, and Annabeth nodded along. There were a bunch of tests to be done because companies found great new ways to weed out applicants before even meeting them in person.

“Sleeping a lot!” Piper said with a dreamy expression. The rest of her friends found more ammunition to hate her.

“And partying!” Reyna added. Beckendorf raised a brow.

“Good point actually! Silena and I wanted to throw a party on Saturday,” he explained.

“Hmm, isn’t that when we were gonna get together?” Annabeth looked to Reyna, but her friend seemed to be intrigued by the way she tilted her head and pursed her lips.

“And?” Hazel countered. “It’s not like we have to go to or throw only one party.”

Hazel had a point.

“We could join forces and plan together,” Reyna offered. Beckendorf nodded. “I’ll let Silena know! She’ll have more info ready.”

“Great!” Piper concluded. “We’ll see each other on Saturday.”

On one hand Annabeth was in it, as her friends were in it. But on the other hand, she truly wasn’t interested. A chilled round at Reyna’s place with perhaps something to smoke sounded enticing and sounded easy. Noise, many people, drinking and music blasting through speakers wasn’t something that she had in mind for this weekend. Especially with a certain someone in the back of her head.

Annabeth didn’t want to party. She wanted to dream.

*****

Saturday arrived sooner than later. Perseus had made no signs of an intimate celebration. He wanted Annabeth to have her fun with her friends first.

“This doesn’t mean that we have to postpone the celebration that you planned?” Annabeth pouted. She looked adorable whenever she did that. She always got her way whenever she did that. Almost.

“Just wait and see, my dear,” he had smiled and brushed her cheek.

Annabeth smiled at the memory of his sweet act. Her blonde locks were perfectly styled and were flung over her shoulder. The dress was black, fit her like a glove and was extremely short. Annabeth decided to wear fishnets under the dress and comfortable boots. It was going to be a college party and not a fancy downtown club. The makeup was kept minimalistic, the golden strings that dangled from her ears reminded her of the ones Perseus wore. Perseus. Annabeth groaned.

She was actually tired from all of the applications she had sent in after her shift at _The Big House_. Annabeth wanted to sleep. But she refused. She wasn’t going to make her life revolve around the Fool. Perseus was right. She should be out with her friends and be happy about it. So why wasn’t she?

Her phone went off with a ping. **Hey! We’re five minutes away from you!** Piper texted.

“All or nothing,” the blonde muttered and stuffed her phone into her mini bag and put her leather jacket over the dress. One last glance into the mirror. Annabeth’s body didn’t mind a little celebration but her gray eyes told her the truth. Then she left her room to scribble a note which she would place on the fridge to let her parents know. Not that they cared as long as she was at home before two in the morning. Being over the age of 21 didn’t matter if you still lived at home.

The note was placed, and Annabeth left her house to be greeted by the fresh air and gusts of winds. The Uber pulled up a minute later and she could see Piper and Hazel wave in it. She climbed into the car and sat next to Hazel.

“This better be good,” Annabeth muttered.

“Oh no! You won’t drag our mood down!” cheered Piper. “It’s going to be amazing, just wait and see!”

Her friends actually went in for the occasion. Hazel’s golden jewelry was nearly blinding her, and Piper’s makeup game was on point. They looked like spies that were on a mission to kill, not some college girls waiting to dance to music by _Drake_ and the artists that featured him.

Their Uber driver, a friendly quiet guy, drove them up to Harlem with a surprising speed. They left their five stars and paid him and turned to the building where the music was already blasting at frightening volume. The feeling in Annabeth’s chest tightened. She would’ve preferred to sleep. But the chatting Piper and Hazel already made their ways in high heels to climb the stairs. Annabeth quickly followed them.

The music got louder and louder, and more familiar faces walked past them. Hugs and kisses on the cheeks were exchanged, people caught up with each other as they climbed the stairs and followed the nearly deafening music. Beckendorf and Silena must have been either hated by their neighbors or severely loved. The door to the apartment was opened by Beckendorf who got greeted by an entire legion of people.

He laughed and welcomed and made room for all of them to enter. The apartment had been transformed into one giant dancefloor. Reyna and her girlfriend Thalia Grace waved them over.

“Long time no see, Chase!” Thalia and Annabeth actually knew each other from summer camp days a long time ago.

“How are you holding up?” Annabeth asked.

“Fine now, since the big stuff is over. Got more time for my love.” Reyna’s smile made Annabeth nearly coo.

Hazel and Piper made their ways to get something non-alcoholic to drink. Annabeth caught how Hazel was stroked up in a conversation and Piper disappeared in the crowd. That meant that Annabeth was trapped with the two love birds that shared quick kisses and stupid grins. Great.

“So, Annabeth.” Thalia caught her attention. “Reyna said something interesting about a dream guy you have?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake are you serious?” Reyna smiled innocently and played with her braided hair.

“You seriously think we keep secrets from each other?” Thalia looked at her skeptically.

“No, but why talk about something so insignificant?” Annabeth shook her head.

“Oh please! Love and life are never insignificant!” Thalia disagreed. “We’re young, dumb and in love or really to fall in love-” she pointed to Annabeth.

“And ready to make a bunch of fucking mistakes which appear to be embarrassing and shameful in one moment and then just utterly stupid and way too funny in the next! Come on Annabeth, live a little!” Annabeth applauded the attempt of cheering her up and trying to get her out of her shell. But in reality, there was nothing to lure her out of it. As weirded out as her friends were about her situation, Annabeth was content. She was almost truly happy. Even if everything with Perseus was happening in her head. Annabeth Chase was actually more than fine with it.

“And even if I should try to pick up some guy, how do I even do that? And no, I won’t be picking up one of Beckendorf or Silena’s friends. Just no.”

Piper reappeared and offered Annabeth a cup with cheap beer. Probably the only drink she would have throughout the entire night. The blonde thanked her. Hazel still seemed to be in a friendly or flirty mood with a handsome guy. Her laughter was honest as far as Annabeth could tell.

“Well, the choice is yours,” Thalia saved and pointed to the crowd which was filled with more than enough men. “You obviously need to find a dick and go wild at it.”

Annabeth nearly choked on her drink whereas Reyna just loudly cackled, and Piper’s eyes simply widened. “Thals, I love you.” The happy couple shared a quick kiss.

“I know,” Thalia grinned, and Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“What did I miss?” Piper looked into the small round from Thalia to Annabeth. Reyna gave her a brief summary. Now it was also Piper’s turn to bite her laugh down.

“I don’t need a guy,” Annabeth said.

“So, a gal this time, huh?” Thalia raised an eyebrow.

“Also, not a gal!” Being the laughing stock of the group truly sucked.

“Come on, Chase! Loosen up a little!” Thalia patted her shoulder. “You know I’m joking but you really need to break free. Have fun, dance, drink, smoke! Just don’t do coke like Dakota over there,” she nodded to their fallen acquaintance.

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Annabeth muttered through her teeth. She hoped her friends heard her over the music. Annabeth looked through the crowd. None of the people really caught her eye.

“You know what, let me find the bathroom.” Piper offered to take her cup again, which Annabeth shook her head to. Then she used the cheap excuse to slip away from her friends. If she worked around the crazy masses of people dancing in the middle of the apartment, if her friends behind her were distracted enough and if Hazel was still so deep into the conversation with her newfound partner, Annabeth might have had a chance to escape to the balcony to catch some breath. The stuffy air, the taste of sweat and reeks of alcohol and other substances didn’t help ease her mind.

But first she really needed to pay the bathroom a visit. On her way there she met Silena who was snacking and laughing with Drew. Both college students seemed to be joking in a lighthearted atmosphere. Drew even hugged Annabeth and blurred at a volume her name out which made three people around them wince.

“Uh, hi?” Annabeth awkwardly reciprocated. To be a young drunk college student.

“Are you okay?” Silena asked with a huge stupid grin on her face. Annabeth hoped that her friend hadn’t been part of the beer pong tournament near the kitchen.

Annabeth smiled and nodded. Silently, she was glad that Silena had been drunk. Otherwise she would have immediately seen through her thin lies.

“It’s just a little bit hot and stuffy in here,” Annabeth tried to deflect. Drew nodded and Silena just patted her on the back. Or tried to pat her on the back because Annabeth received a full slap on the back. The smile froze on her lips.

“Oh, it’ll be fine!” screamed Silena over the music. “Get yourself something to drink, something to smoke, find a guy to make out with and everything will be fine!”

Even drunk Silena agreed with the ingenious plans of the rest of their friend group. Annabeth sighed and merely nodded along. The blonde actually took a closer look over the crowd that overflowed the apartment. Of course, she recognized many faces from her classes or her friends’ classes. Some faces seemed to be the kind of faces you saw passing by when you paid attention for two seconds. After that you brushed them off and forgot about their existence. Annabeth even recognized more people from her summer camp days. New York was the tiniest metropole in the world. There were all sorts of people.

From the dressed-up freshman, to the disgruntled senior in flip flops. People in heels and people with converse shoes that were falling apart. All in all, the people had something together – they enjoyed a great time. Something Annabeth completely fell out of. “Where’s the bathroom?” Annabeth asked Silena.

“Over there!” Silena shouted and pointed around the corner. Annabeth hadn’t had the chance to properly visit the new apartment of Beckendorf and hers.

“Thank you! I’ll be right back!”

“Bye!” yelled Drew. Annabeth just hoped that the entire ruckus of the party wouldn’t leave her with some sort of hearing loss.

The more than annoyed blonde fought her way to the crowd and had to wait roughly fifteen minutes to enter the bathroom because someone decided to break up with their boyfriend over the phone in there with the moral support of two friends in there. The short bathroom break was accompanied with Annabeth opening the small window to fan some fresh air to herself. A glance in the mirror told her that she didn’t need to refresh her makeup and that her curls were mostly still intact.

A person frantically knocking on the door made her snap out of it. She left so that the impatient young man could enter.

Four steps in and Annabeth nearly crashed into someone. “Hey,” the young man said. He was a little bit taller than her and looked fairly casual in his forest green hoodie.

“Hey?” Annabeth said. She had seen him in the crowd and somewhere else around. He was one of Beckendorf’s friends. Justin, Joshua, Jeremiah…

“My name’s Jake. Jake Mason.” Oh.

“Hi! I’m Annabeth,” she shook his hand. Way too formal for a random college party.

Jake was an okay kind of guy. He looked cute if you had been a few glasses deep and squinted one eye. Annabeth just wasn’t into it. Short sandy blonde hair, brown teddy bear eyes and a round face. Almost babyish. Not exactly Annabeth’s type. She was used to someone else’s sharp features by now.

The young woman had the feeling that Jake Mason was the perfect mixture of her ex-boyfriend Luke Castellan and Piper’s fallen love Jason Grace and that in an even worse way. Not the type of guy she wouldn’t mind for a quick fling to get the tension out of her body.

Jake was just not Perseus. He was an anti-Perseus so to speak. Whereas Jake was shier and acted nervously around her, Perseus was cunning and immediately spoke his mind. He had no issues with standing up to Annabeth’s remark. He had no issues with touching her. No issues with grabbing her by the waist or taking her hand into his. His touch. Annabeth’s mind wandered back to the Fool. She would really rather sleep away somewhere in a corner rather than exchange empty shells of words with an acquaintance. And Annabeth knew that her comparisons made no sense and were unjust to Jake. How could someone compete with the fantasy in her head?

“Uh,” Jake made. He nervously licked his thin lips. An acquaintance that hoped that the night was still young. Annabeth mentally winced. This was going to be a disaster. No need to pay Lady Hestia a visit, no need to look into the cards. That was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even Annabeth could tell that.

“I saw you earlier when you entered and didn’t have the chance to immediately talk to you.” Thank god.

“You look pretty in your dress.”

“Thank you.” That smile was of an honest nature.

“Isn’t it too warm in there?” Annabeth questioned and pointed to his outfit.

“Oh, it’s fine. Pretty bearable so far,” Jake laughed.

“Okay.”

“Would you like something to drink?” Annabeth’s brain shortcut for a second. No. She lifted her cup.

“Or would you rather dance?” She was trapped. Jake was a nice guy and her friends hadn’t been entirely wrong when they said that she needed to find someone else to spend some time with. Annabeth really hoped it wasn’t the one beer she was still holding in her hand speaking in her.

“Yeah, sure,” she reluctantly agreed and let his sweaty hand get a hold of her left one and tightly squeeze it. Annabeth pulled a face behind him and managed to free her shortened pinkie at least.

The cup got randomly placed somewhere as the next song was a _PARTYNEXTDOOR_ remix. Annabeth turned around to see if she could find her friends. They slightly moved. Thalia and Reyna stood in the corner and were slowly making out whereas Hazel immediately caught Annabeth’s eye. Her jaw dropped and she patted Piper’s shoulder before.

Annabeth could see her friends cheer in the distance and the distaste and foul feeling in her only worsened. _I’m giving this a chance; I’m giving this a chance_. Jake smelled like he hadn’t showered in a bit. Standing so close to him and his hoodie made Annabeth realize that. _I’m still giving that a chance_ …

The bass was booming, and the beat had the crowd going crazy in the middle of the apartment. Jake placed them into the middle of the crowd. People around them were dancing, having fun, doing things not everyone needed to witness. They moved. Both were very stiff at first. Annabeth closed her eyes and felt the beat and the rhythm of the music. She let her hips move along to it. The blackness in front of her made it way easier to imagine that she was somewhere else. With someone else. Jake didn’t unfortunately.

Annabeth had the feeling that he got closer to her. A step backwards. His hands made a move on her. Annabeth made another tiny step backwards as if to say _no hands_. She didn’t know whether Jake was unable to read her body language or worse - if he simply tried to ignore it. Then it really happened. He placed his hands on her hips and tried to pull her into him.

Annabeth yanked them off her. “Wait what’s going on?” He had really been blind to her body language.

“I’m sorry, but this-” Her hands pointed to him and then to her. “Isn’t going to work. Bye.” Hopefully she’d never see him again.

She turned on her heels and disappeared. “Oh my god, did that guy seriously try to grab you?” Hazel was furious. Piper tried to get a hold of Jake Mason who had disappeared in the dancing masses.

“Next time I see him, I’ll punch him,” she promised.

“Don’t bother guys, really. Well. I’d say that trying to get a guy to loosen up experiment failed. It absolutely failed.” Annabeth didn’t sound agitated or angry. She was simply tired. A tired conclusion.

Piper and Hazel looked at her apologetically. Thalia and Reyna were still busy. Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. He’s a moron but nothing happened.”

Piper sighed in relief and Hazel hugged the blonde. “Okay, throw men into the trash. Let’s just dance. Not getting wasted. Just sticking together and dancing, alright?”

Annabeth and Hazel agreed to Piper’s plan. Reyna and Thalia even joined them a couple of moments later. Jake was forgotten. College was forgotten. Annabeth actually enjoyed herself. She actually had fun.

It was roughly four in the morning when the party slowly started to break up. The group of five said their goodbyes to Silena and Beckendorf who thanked them for showing up. Beckendorf actually apologized for not sticking around to talk to them.

“Why are you apologizing?” asked Reyna. “You were more than just busy with all of the people you invited!”

“Okay, true!” laughed their colleague. He wished them a pleasant night. The Uber arrived shortly to drop each of the five young women at their destinations off. Piper and Annabeth were the only ones that remained in the backseat of the car.

“Oh, hey Annabeth,” Piper started as Hazel had been dropped off.

“Hm?” Annabeth had problems with staying awake. The silence and the rocking movements of the car made her feel like a baby in a crib.

“I did some research about Perseus.” The blonde was wide awake all of a sudden.

“And?” Annabeth almost sounded out of breath. Her pulse raced. She could hear her heartbeat ring in her ears.

“Nothing,” answered Piper. “I found nothing.”

Disappointment spread throughout Annabeth’s body. Disappointment and a strange feeling of relief. Perseus was still her little secret. He was still her guilty pleasure.

“It’s so weird. I tried to image reverse search and nothing came up. I found a bunch of other tarot cards and other depictions of the Fool. But not this particular card. The art style is wonderful, why would someone try to keep that for themselves? He’d be a part of a very beautiful deck I’d imagine?”

Annabeth nodded along. “Hestia might have produced them herself,” she thought loudly.

Coldness. Shivers. The feeling of being watched and heard. _Do not speak of her name!_ warned Perseus in her head. This can’t be the blonde thought. _Why do I feel uneasy? It’s not like she’s here._ A golden grin came to her mind. Annabeth immediately shook the thought off.

“Who?” Piper’s eyebrow rose. Or rather the remaining part of it. Dancing, laughing and sweating made the makeup nearly disappear.

“Oh, the fortune teller I saw,” Annabeth innocently smiled. Piper was either too unbothered to ask further questions or too tired. The brunette merely nodded. It was Piper’s turn to drop off. Annabeth named her address and tried to fight against the sleep that crawled up to her eyes. Her body wanted to rest, and her mind wanted to desperately escape. She paid the driver as she arrived. Annabeth climbed the stairs to the townhouse and remembered that she forgot to warn her parents that she would arrive later than usual at home.

The blonde checked her phone. Yes, she was as good as dead. Silently she moved through the house and slipped into her room. The frantic and partially angry texts of her parents had been answered with a quick **I’m terribly sorry. I forgot to inform you. Yes, of course we can talk about my behavior in the morning. I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t want to scare you.**

The shoes were chucked into the corner, the makeup had been lazily removed. Annabeth didn’t even really bother with throwing the makeup wipes away. The leather jacket was thrown onto her desk. Should her mother decide to barge into the room in the morning, Annabeth would be in trouble as pathetic as it seemed. The young woman brushed all of those dark thoughts aside. She only wanted to do one thing – dream.

She hastily put her curls into a bun and then threw herself onto her bed. No need for pajamas. Finally. It was time.

*****

Annabeth opened her eyes and was delighted to find herself on the beautiful ship again. She still wore her party outfit and hoped that it wouldn’t weird Perseus out. Then again, he had seen her shorts that barely covered her ass, why should he freak out about a mid-thigh long dress? Goosebumps covered her legs. It was cold. Unusual cold. The warmth her body ached for was gone. Annabeth’s eyes got used to the darkness. The sun had disappeared. Dark clouds graced the sky and covered the golden orb that gave humanity warmth and comfort. Storm clouds to be precise. It was quiet. Too quiet. The drive of the people that Annabeth was used to hearing was dead silent. The merchant ship itself felt eerie. Almost as if it had aged for centuries overnight.

“Who was he?” Annabeth turned around. Perseus sat at his desk. The face was unreadable if it wasn’t for the boiling rage his eye pointed at someone. That someone being her.

“What are you talking about?” Annabeth tilted her head in confusion.

“That man!” A balled fist landed on the expensive piece of furniture.

“Who was he?!” Thunder boomed. This time it sounded like it was really close. Annabeth’s jaw dropped. Why was Perseus so angry?

“Your suitor!” he barked. Perseus jumped up. Hurt, pain, anger, disappointment. Every emotion possible flashed over his face briefly. Seeing the Fool that upset made Annabeth’s heart break apart.

“Your friend, your lover! The blond one with god awful fashion! I only saw glimpses. You danced with him. He pulled you into an embrace. You seemed to fairly enjoy it!” he spat.

Annabeth pieced the puzzle together. “You’re not seriously talking about Jake Mason, now are you?” She pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

“Jake Mason,” he grunted. Pure mockery came out of his mouth. “What is your business with that Jake Mason?”

Annabeth shook her head. “What’s that to you?” His reaction was out of the ordinary. Perseus never acted up when Annabeth met a guy friend. Why now with that annoying prick from earlier?

“He’s nothing.”

Whatever was going on with Perseus was not something she needed at the moment. She wanted to have a fun and relaxing dream. Not carry the tension and rough night from her reality to her subconsciousness. She didn’t need reminders of Jake in her safe haven.

“A dream. I am still a _dream_ to you?!” Perseus jumped up from his seat. His hands were placed on the secretary and supported him. His sea-green eye cried with a coldness. A wild animal that was ready to snap at any given time.

“What do you honestly want me to say?”

“The fucking _truth_!” Blinding lightning left Annabeth unphased. Seeing the same magic tricks got old after a while.

“Do you honestly want to know the truth?” Annabeth knew that he had no right to it. Absolutely none. She got closer to him.

“Yes, I would like to know the truth!” Perseus marched to her. Annabeth’s legs reduced the space between them.

“The truth is that I don’t owe you jack shit,” Annabeth huffed.

Coldness. Murderous rage. Hatred. All of that and much more were the emotions that Annabeth could read in his face. Thunder crackled. The next moment was blurry. Perseus would have said that Annabeth made the first step and Annabeth would deny that right on the spot and point her finger directly to the pirate. And if Perseus had been an honest man, he would have agreed.

Her own anger made her chest rise up with every breath she took. She could see the slight frown that slowly made its way to him. He could feel her breath on his collar bone. Perseus looked down to her and deeply into the wild stare of her wonderful gray eyes.

A large hand was raised and found her heated face. His lips crashed down on hers. The shock spread throughout her entire body. Annabeth’s eyes widened before she closed them to enjoy the moment. To enjoy the feeling. To enjoy him. A thumb caressed her cheek. Her hands wandered from his chest upwards. Annabeth wrapped her arms around his neck. The kisses didn’t stop. The lightning didn’t stop, neither did the howling wind that rocked the ship. None of that mattered. What mattered was the intimate moment. A moment Annabeth had secretly wished for.

He tasted like salt and the sweetest apple. He tasted like magic and the way he kissed her truly came from the world between worlds. Their lips parted and reconnected. They found each other again and dived into each other again. The heated argument turned into something else. _Lust_.

Annabeth stood on her toes to match his height. Perseus’s arms found their way to her back. Steps. One by one. Soon Annabeth found herself sandwiched between Perseus and a wall. She didn’t care, she wanted more. More of him, more of the closeness. One of his hands grabbed her ass. Annabeth shrieked and Perseus’ tongue used that as an excuse to taste more of her. Dominance. A fight both lost and won. Annabeth’s legs wrapped themselves around his hips. He fully supported her weight against the wall.

Perseus was everywhere. In her thoughts, on her lips, between her arms, between her legs. Annabeth grabbed his straw tricorn and threw it away. Her fingers pulled on his soft hair. His smirk on her lips died down as she fiercely kissed him back.

They finally parted as the air from their lungs ran out. Annabeth’s knees wobbled but being pressed against Perseus prevented her from falling. Her breaths were shallow as if she had just run a marathon. Perseus looked wild and disheveled. Even the Fool seemed to be out of breath. They stared at each other for a few seconds before they crashed again into each other and enjoyed their kisses. This time softer, more tender. They smiled against their lips. Finally, Annabeth broke apart with a giggle.

“I wanted to do this the very first moment I saw you, love,” he confessed with a whisper.

“You should have done so around my third encounter with you.” Annabeth wouldn’t have minded. Not at all.

“I was a fool.”

“I know.”

They kissed again. Their embrace gave them warmth and comfort. The butterflies in Annabeth’s stomach took off.

The sun parted the clouds. Perseus' sour mood vanished. He was happy for the first time in a very, very long time. Annabeth and he laid lazily on the sofa. She felt so right in his arms. Playing with her princess curls was something he had yearned to do a long time ago and now he finally had the right to it. They stared at each other and shared a quick kiss here and there.

“About Jake…” Annabeth began and licked her lips. She felt how Perseus tensed up beside her. She placed her hand on his biceps to calm him down. Annabeth barely managed to do so.

“I went to the party with my friends. He was there and surprised me after I left the bathroom. The girls had suggested that I should try to pick up a guy to get loose.”

Perseus followed her thoughts and he looked displeased. He wanted her to have her fun, but he had to admit that his jealousy got the best of him. If only he could leave this prison…

“Well,” Annabeth continued. “He introduced himself and we went on to dance and he got a little bit… handsy so to speak.”

“Did he molest you?!” A shock tore him apart. His sea-green eye seemed to have paled.

“No, not really. I turned around and left him. I really wasn’t into it. Jake isn’t really my type.” _You are_.

“Good,” he said darkly.

Annabeth laughed. “Stop, I don’t want to think about anything else. Anyone else,” she whispered.

“Me neither,” Perseus said before he claimed her lips one more time. “I only want to think about our little celebration.”

A beautiful dream turned into a nightmarish end. Athena did storm into Annabeth’s room for the so-called talk in the morning. Getting a lecture by your parent at eight was something Annabeth wouldn’t even wish her worst enemy. Headaches, fatigue mixed with a weird bubbly sensation when her brain tried to drift into the events with Perseus made the speech her mother gave her even more torturous.

No parties until a prestigious internship had been brought on land. Annabeth agreed with her mother’s terms for once. It wasn’t a true punishment; it was almost the opposite. Still, Annabeth didn’t feel the need to thank her mother. A sarcastic remark was not something Athena Chase would stand for.

“What is going on with you?” asked her mother one last time.

“I don’t recognize you.” _You’ve never truly known me._

“And what’s on your face? Why are your lips so swollen?” Athena furrowed her eyebrows.

“What?” Annabeth’s curiosity was sparked.

“Oh, why even bother,” her mother said while rolling her eyes. “Pull yourself together!” she commanded one last time.

“Yes,” was the only thing the younger Chase said. Athena finally left her room.

Annabeth sat upright on her bed and felt her lips. They felt slightly bruised. As if she really went through the most exciting make out session she ever had. Indeed, she did have one. On that beautiful merchant ship with a wonderful man. Annabeth’s hand wandered underneath her pillow. The Fool had remained there ever since. A smile found its way to her face. _My Perseus_. Her finger wandered over the furrows and edges of the tarot card. Her Fool.

She pressed a small kiss on his grinning face and looked forward to doing that again in her dreams.

*****

Annabeth could barely focus on the quiz that the stupid company had set up for applicants. She was about to copy documents and be the recorder in meetings and maybe do some clicks here and there in software. She wasn’t going to design her first house on the spot. That would take nearly twenty years of her life, fifteen if she was really good in her field.

Her thoughts were still circling around Perseus and their steamy moment. For the first time the young woman was glad that she hadn’t been called in for a real interview. She would have been way too distracted. His scent, his smile, his taste. The way his birthmarks shifted whenever he laughed. The way he held her close to his heart. The way he leaned forward to kiss her... Annabeth was glad that the interview could be paused and proceeded at any given time because she had to fan some air to herself again. She knew it was pathetic. How could one simple man cloud her mind so much? How could one simple man impress her that much? Annabeth knew she treated the pirate unfairly. The Fool wasn’t just a man. He was more than that.

Was this the future Lady Hestia of the Hearth had foreseen for her? There had to be more to it. Annabeth hoped so. The young woman took a deep breath and resumed the quiz. As much as she loved gushing about the Fool, she had a future commitment to worry about. She wanted to make her parents proud. Sort of. She wanted to prove herself.

Annabeth’s following dreams were as sweet as they had always been. Even sweeter. Perseus always spun her around and tightly embraced her before kissing her senseless.

“My wonderful Annabeth.” His poppet. His sweet Annabeth. His wonderful Annabeth. Words that made Annabeth’s heart nearly burst with joy.

“My Perseus,” would be her answer or “My Fool.” Their displays of affection grew with each dream. Mostly.

“You don’t have to be nervous,” Perseus laughed. Annabeth wandered up and down again.

“It doesn’t work like this, I just am,” she denied. She had finally scored an interview at a highly respected architect firm which her parents approved of. “There could be so many things that could go wrong!”

“Like you getting hit with a flower pot on the way to said interview?” Perseus raised his dark eyebrow and watched her every move.

“Exactly!” Annabeth still was somewhat displeased at him reading her thoughts, but she knew that there was nothing they could do against it.

Perseus just laughed. “This won’t happen, poppet,” he chuckled and promised.

Annabeth turned around to him as he sat on the floor like so many nights before. “How could you be so certain of that?” she asked him and sounded worried.

His hand reached out to hers. He kissed her pinkie like he always did and looked up to her. “Because you are Annabeth Chase. A wonderful woman that I know by heart.”

This feeling that Annabeth felt. Was it love? Could it be love?

*****

The interview the next day went very well. Annabeth felt ridiculous in hindsight and very ashamed about the out of touch scenarios she had told Perseus previously. Annabeth was greeted by the secretary and brought into the room with the senior architect and the head of project management as she could possibly dive into both fields.

The talk had been surprisingly pleasant. Annabeth didn’t have the feeling that both women were interested in her because of her parents’ legacy. They invited her to get to _know_ Annabeth personally. The tension in the room had dropped immediately. It had been a rather casual talk with some references to Annabeth’s current work or future goals in mind.

“Miss Chase, usually I don’t say this, but you are currently the best candidate we have,” said the project manager.

“Oh!” Annabeth blushed. “Thank you!”

The hour was up. Almost way too soon. The women shook hands. The senior architect promised her that they would call her by next week. Annabeth left the modern building with an optimistic feeling. Of course, the possibility of getting called off was still there and high, but the fact that she had actually stepped into the office and had a talk sufficed to uplift her spirits.

The door closed. “And?” Annabeth was surprised to see her mother coming out of the living room. Athena wore her signature pencil skirt although she didn’t wear heels. It was surprising to see her mother at home at these hours and so casually dressed down. Sneakers! Her mother actually wore _sneakers_!

“It went very well!” Annabeth was all smiles. “I think I’ve impressed them. We had a pleasant chat about my goals and future tasks. The pay is also quite nice for an intern.”

“Good,” her mother actually smiled. “But let’s wait for a positive answer before we celebrate properly.”

Annabeth agreed with Athena for once. “ I’ll continue to apply for firms.”

“A wise idea,” her mother nodded. Annabeth light-footed rushed upstairs. The hours at the desk passed. Copying the resume, working on her application and sending everything in.

Annabeth was over the moon as she had gotten two more emails containing details for two other interviews. Companies seemed to love her. Annabeth Chase, the perfect candidate. The night claimed the sky for itself and pushed the daylight away.

Annabeth threw herself onto her bed and fell asleep with the biggest smile on her face. Perseus greeted her with a kiss. “You’ve made it, love,” he said as he cupped her heart shaped face.

“Not yet, I have to wait for the answers, my Fool,” Annabeth replied and kissed him. She buried her face into his warm chest with a laugh.

“What’s going on? Why are you hiding your face?” Perseus asked. His amusement stopped as soon as he realized that Annabeth was sobbing.

“Annabeth!” She lifted her head. Perseus brushed her tears away. Her face broke out into a goofy grin.

“I can’t help it. I can’t stop the tears from falling,” she laughed and wiped them away. “I haven’t been this happy in my entire life!”

The confession felt easy on her lips. Life was looking good. Her real life seemed to blossom in her career and her dreams were wonderful. Whereas Annabeth had thought roughly six months ago that sleep had been nothing more than just a bodily function to shut down, now it had turned into the opposite. Sleep was bliss. Sleep was where she could live her life at its fullest. Sleep was where she and Perseus would be reunited every single night.

“Don’t cry, you’re breaking my heart,” Perseus whispered.

“Even if I’m happy?”

“Especially when you’re happy. There’s nothing to uplift for me. I can’t cheer you up when you’re already happy.” His comment made Annabeth laugh. Then her lips had been captured again.

Their gentle kiss turned into something else. It turned into more. Perseus’ straw tricorn rolled to the floor which he then carelessly kicked aside. Annabeth clung tightly and wrapped her arms around his neck once again. Her tongue slipped into his mouth. A pleasure he seemed to fairly enjoy.

A thought came to her mind. Perseus broke the kiss. His face looked wild and his lips had been red from all of her kisses. “Are you sure?” he asked her. The Fool wanted it as well. She could see that in his sea-green eye.

Annabeth kissed him yet again. “More than sure.”

Perseus leaned forward to kiss her again with passion. His kisses were straight forward, his hands found their way to her body. He lifted Annabeth once again. Her hands grasped his black strands. Then the pirate carried her to his bedroom.

Annabeth lifted his wide poet shirt and threw it away. A bare-chested Perseus leaned forward and kissed her neck. Perseus was indeed a good-looking man. His shirt had hidden his muscular build underneath. Their excitement could barely be contained. Perseus removed her shirt. Little by little, piece by piece they lost their clothing and fell into the bed.

They shared one final look, before Perseus dove between her legs and Annabeth pulled him into her. In the heat of the moment Annabeth grabbed his eye patch and threw it away. Surprised, Perseus opened his left eye. A sea-green fog left his dark eye socket. Annabeth started to feel dizzy. Then she closed her eyes and blindly kissed him.

They felt each other. They felt the closeness, the intimacy. Fingers that were interlaced. A heat, a pleasure.

“ _Perseus_!”

“Oh, _Annabeth_ …”

They explored each other, they devoured each other. They couldn’t get enough of each other.

Annabeth in his arms felt like she had always belonged there. Perseus kissed her temples and her hair line. The blonde curls were a tousled mess and Annabeth didn’t mind. They bore witness to a wonderful night and pleasant activities. Their bodies were covered in sweat and the sheets were wet. Neither cared. All they needed was each other and their naked bodies pressed into each other. Her hand remained on his chest where it drew circles.

“I wish to stay here forever. With you,” Annabeth confessed and looked up to him. His left eye remained closed. It was weird to see Perseus without his signature eye patch. It made him more human. More modern. And more handsome. He grinned wickedly for a split second. His hand brushed her back.

“I know, my poppet.”

“Can’t you stretch time out? Shouldn’t that be possible?”

Perseus exhaled. “I wish, my wonderful Annabeth, but alas I cannot. My abilities of manipulation are limited, I can only work with your vision and your memories. I cannot break your reality.” The rules were cruel. You got a small taste of happiness each day only for it to wither away. Perseus raised her hand and placed a kiss on her short pinkie.

“That sucks.”

“Indeed, it does.” Annabeth rested her head again on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. The comfortable silence was only broken with the shifting of the mattress and the sound of the kisses they shared.

And then it happened again. Perseus saw her dawn far away. A dawn which seemed to be invisible for her. Annabeth froze. She felt like a statue. Then her being cracked and crumbled away. Her remains slipped into the cracks of the mattress. Like ashes that fell into the sea. Perseus opened his eyes. The sea-green clouded his mind. He hoped for Annabeth to return soon, like he did every night.

Annabeth woke up and thought she was in delirium. She felt so relaxed but also so tired. As if she had really stayed up all night with a man. Her muscles were sore and ached. She felt her thigh. For a second, she thought she would feel the stingy bite that Perseus had left there as he had explored her body. Annabeth’s hand wandered up to her lips. They were bruised, as Perseus had claimed them throughout the entire night.

*****

“Oh my god,” Hazel eyed Annabeth weirdly after the shift. The blonde had been in a good mood. Not a crazy “ _the semester is finally over”_ mood, but a “ _I had a guy over last night”_ mood.

“Yeah, what’s going on? You look…radiant? Like you had a really good time.” Piper added.

A blonde curl was wrapped around her finger. She played with it throughout the entire shift. Annabeth fought the urge of touching the areas that Perseus had touched. It would have been more than just embarrassing to do that in front of her friends. She simply scratched her neck. The neck which had been covered in kisses…

“I just had-”

“Another great dream?” Reyna guessed. “It’s starting to get old.”

“It’s the truth,” Annabeth said and bit her lips. She still felt his touch on her body.

“Looks like a _really_ good dream,” Hazel commented.

“I hope the pirate sex was fire though!” Piper ducked in the right moment as Annabeth threw her skirt in her direction.

Then she checked her email on her phone. “Looks like I got another interview in two weeks!” Annabeth announced.

“Oh my god, if you’re looking forward to seeing some progress to your stupid applications just say so,” Reyna groaned. “No need to get all weird with your dream lover.”

Annabeth ignored Reyna’s comment and simply deflected. “Yes, the response was everything I was looking forward to. I’m more than happy!”

*****

Two days later and Annabeth returned once again from an interview. She turned her phone on and was met with a bunch of texts from her friends. **And?** Piper asked. Annabeth smiled and decided to call her on the spot. Piper picked up.

“It was okay,” Annabeth laughed as she walked through the busy streets.

“My version of okay which is you basically got the job or your version of okay?”

“Okay, it went pretty well,” Annabeth confessed. “I think I managed to impress them. I might have a chance.”

“You meant to say you completely wooed them,” Piper corrected which made Annabeth laugh.

“Oh stop, I’m still waiting for several other responses, I’ve pretty much covered the entire city, I even sent out stuff to L.A. Malcolm said I could live with him for six months.”

Piper gasped. “What?! Don’t leave us, Annie!”

“Piper, I fucking swear if you call me Annie again I will-”

“ _Annabeth!_ ” called her someone from behind. It was the voice of a man. The blonde heard rushed footsteps getting closer. A warm hand was placed on her shoulder.

Irritated, Annabeth turned around and nearly dropped her phone. She couldn’t believe it. Her mouth dried out and her gray eyes widened in shock. “Annabeth?” asked Piper as she heard her friend’s loud gasp.

“Piper, I’m going to call you later,” Annabeth babbled before hanging up.

“ _Perseus?!_ ”

It couldn’t be. Her eyes were lying to her. Yet he stood there and was as surprised as she was. His tanned hand still remained on her shoulder and slowly let go of her.

The long waves of his hair were gone, a modern curly black mop sat on his head. No dangling earrings. The same birthmarks and the same full lips. The same attractive features. Perseus wore washed out jeans and a black sweater. The strap of a backpack remained on his left shoulder. He didn’t smell like the sea, he oddly smelled like food. He looked like he fit right into this time, but it was seeing him like that was too bizarre for Annabeth. She was so used to his pirate self.

The eye patch was missing. Annabeth looked into his beautiful sea-green eyes for the very first time. His left eye was paler than the right one. It was an unusual sight. Her knees began to wobble.

“It _is_ you,” Perseus sounded surprised with his rich baritone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well... what can I say about that ending? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> Of course we have to have a mini cliffhanger! What do you think?! :D
> 
> I unfortunately don't know when I'm going to be back with the second act, it's going to be something that's for sure! I want to post it once I've finished writing it! I've got about half of my bullet points covered and 24k words, so be assured that you'll get your long chapters!  
> I promise that I will be back with a few short stories and one shots in the meantime :D

**Author's Note:**

> Well. That was it. The first chapter of The Fool! What did you think (:
> 
> Chapter two comes around Thursday!
> 
> Also feel free to follow me on Tumblr ([thejudgingtrash](https://thejudgingtrash.tumblr.com/)) for updates, the artwork, teasers, questions you might have and other shenanigans :D


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